Xiaocong Guo
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I worked for several years after completing my undergraduate degree. During this time, I realize how much I enjoyed doing research. There is a strong sense of satisfaction to be able to synthesize new knowledge and use it to benefit health. I saw graduate school as a way for me to acquire the skills necessary to conceptualize, design, and complete influential research projects and maximize the benefit I can bring to society as a whole.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
The University of British Columbia is a top tier university in Canada and across the world. I can leverage the exemplary training environment and its culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Choosing to study at UBC was easily the best decision I could have made for graduate school.
What is it specifically, that your program offers, that attracted you?
The Occupational and Environmental Health (OEH) division in the School of Population and Public Health has a long history of providing high quality graduate training, research collaboration, and professional development. It provides me access to not only a wide range of research and policy experts, like-minded peers who are passionate about their fields, but also professionals in the broader OEH community such as knowledge users from WorkSafeBC.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
The best surprise was the camaraderie between the students in my cohort. There are numerous social events which help us succeed in school, and pave the way for our future careers. I particularly enjoy the networking sessions, our lab check-in discussions, and student-led study accountability groups to allow us to share ideas and learn valuable skills from each other.
What aspects of your life or career before now have best prepared you for your UBC graduate program?
My prior work and research experiences have proven to me that challenges will always present themselves in research, but the ability to work creatively and collaboratively will define my success in my PhD studies.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
My advice to new graduate students is to not work in a silo. There is a wealth of knowledge in research experts, your peers, and those who started a similar journey before you. Collaborate and learn from them whenever you can, and you will realize that with their help, there is no insurmountable problem. Many times, a conversation with someone will give you new insights into your own research.
Learn more about Xiaocong's research
Extreme heat is a threat to human health. Exposure to high temperature is associated with illness and death, and substantial evidence suggests that the health impacts of heat will increase as the duration, frequency, and intensity of extreme heat increase due to climate change. Workers are at particularly high risk to hot weather due to their limited ability to control heat exposure in occupational settings. However, evidence to illustrate the effects of extreme heat on occupational health in the Canadian context is sparse. To address this gap, I will conduct a review to assess epidemiological evidence of occupational heat-related health impacts, and a scan of policies and practices in relation to heat exposure of workers from jurisdictions across Canada and the world. Subsequently, I will link administrative health datasets and meteorological datasets to identify and quantify factors that place workers at higher risk during hot weather in British Columbia. Findings from this study can aid in developing and improving policies to promote occupational health and safety, and will give insight into comparable studies in other jurisdictions across Canada and the world to mitigate health disparities in the changing climate.
