HEAL Lab and Western Colleagues Gather in Banff for SKI 2026
- Post by: Anastasia Soukhov
- 11:58AM Feb 26, 2026
- No Comment
From February 19-22, 2026, some of the members of the HEAL Lab traded the office for the mountains (and proximate conference center) within Banff, Alberta for the Spatial Knowledge and Information (SKI) Canada Conference. SKI is one of Canada’s largest gathering for anyone passionate about geospatial science (from health geography and transportation to urban planning and spatial statistics) bringing together researchers, practitioners, and students from across the country. The 2026 program included themed sessions on transport, environment, regions, urban environments, citizens, models, and accessibility, along with social events, a keynote, research synopses, and the annual awards ceremony.
This year, many HEAL Lab members were grateful to attend the conference; represented by Dr. Alexandre ‘AJ’ Wray, Dr. Jinhyung Lee, Dr. Anastasia Soukhov and Dr. Peiqi Zhang. They were also joined by an amazing group of GIScience colleagues and friends from Western University including Dr. Agnieszka Leszczynski, as well as PhD Students Naser Ahmed, Haorui Zhou, Hui Jeong (Hailyee) Ha, and Lindi Jahiu.
An overview of our presentations:
- Quantifying Urban Mobility Responses to Snowfall Using Aggregated OD Data and Route Classification
Haorui Zhou, Jed Long - Shade Deserts: Mapping Shade Supply–Demand Gaps Using Hyperlocal Microclimate Simulations
Naser Ahmed, Henry Shaver, Anastasia Soukhov, James Voogt, Jinfei Wang, Jinhyung Lee - Heat Stress and Diurnal Changes in Resident Presence During the 2021 Vancouver Heat Dome
Hui Jeong Ha, Naser Ahmed, James Voogt, Jinhyung Lee, Jed Long - Everyday Urban Surveillance: The Semiotics of Surveillance Signage in Toronto
Lindi Jahiu - Beyond Proximity: Socioeconomic and Health Contexts of Prenatal Care Travel Patterns
Anastasia Soukhov, Ava Hudson, Justin Yu, Yuhao Kang, Hanqi Li, Peiyin Hung, Armita Kar - Research Synopsis Pitches
- Dr. Alexandre “AJ” Wray
- Dr. Agnieszka Leszczynski
And a special round of applause goes to this year’s award winners, Haoqin, Linhi, and Anastasia, who each took home Best Paper and Presentation Awards (pictured proudly holding their awards!).
All in all, a fantastic showing at SKI 2026!