Federico Andrade-Rivas

Federico is a PhD student at the School of Population and Public Health, working in the Global Health Research Program under the supervision of Dr. Jerry Spiegel. He was born in Colombia, and graduated as an Anthropologist and Environmental Engineer from University of Los Andes. He holds a Master in Public Health from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) where he worked at the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health Research (COEHR). After collaborating in different projects in Colombia, South Africa, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, and Costa Rica, he found his passion for broad approaches to explore human health and its connection with nature and ecosystems health. Federico is looking at novel ways to understand the interaction between human health and the environment. He is particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches to reduce chemical pollution contamination among marginalized populations, while engaging with stakeholders and communities to find solutions that acknowledge peoples’ diverse interests. His current research is exploring food systems in indigenous communities in Ecuador to better understand how global and local food systems are interconnected, and related to health equity and environmental sustainability. Federico’s research is connected to the Think, Eat and Grow Green Globally (TEG3) program (co-led by Dr. J. Spiegel) which is committed with knowledge sharing between Global North and Global South research practices.

Beyond studying and conducting research, he is a rock climber, and an outdoor sports enthusiast.