Areas of interest

One Health; Planetary Health; Wildlife Health; Human-Animal Relationships; Human Dimension; Health Equity; Social Determinants of Health; Ecological Determinants of Health; Health Communications; Implementation Science; Knowledge Mobilization; Community-Based Research

Biography

Dr. Kaylee Byers is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, a Senior Scientist with the Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society, and the Deputy Director of the British Columbia node of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative. Dr. Byers is a settler scholar of European ancestry, with roots in both Canada’s Maritime (Nova Scotia) and prairie provinces (Alberta). She is an interdisciplinary scholar with over a decade of experience working in the field of One Health, which recognizes the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment.

Dr. Byers received her PhD from the University of British Columbia, where she studied the disease ecology of urban rats in Vancouver. Her work combined genomics, epidemiology, molecular biology, ecological field methods, and qualitative methodologies to explore the complex health and management challenges posed by rats in cities. Outside of research, she is also an active and enthusiastic science communicator. She co-founded, organizes and hosts Nerd Nite Vancouver, a science seminar series which aims to share science in a casual setting. She is also the host of Genome British Columbia’s award-winning podcast “Nice Genes” which explores the role of genomics in society.