Marcelo Urquia, PhD, MSc

Research summary

Dr. Marcelo Urquia's research interests include the intersection of gender, immigration, and health and wellbeing, with a life-course perspective. He focuses on understanding health risks using a family perspective, rather than treating individuals as unrelated statistical units. His research approach is primarily based on the analysis of large linked population-based multisectoral databases. His current research topics include maternal and birth outcomes, immigration and health, intimate partner violence, child marriage, family and adolescent health, and international health. Dr. Urquia is also developing the measurement of family structure in the Manitoba population to advance research in this area.

Research affiliations

• Senior research scientist, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP)
• Research scientist, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
• Research affiliate, Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR), Faculty of Law

Research groups

• Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP)
• Migration Health and Development Research Initiative (MHADRI)
• Reproductive Outcomes and Migration. An International Collaboration

Keywords

• Child and adolescent health
• Epidemiology
• Family health
• Gender equity
• Immigration
• Immigrant health
• Maternal and paternal health
• Perinatal epidemiology
• Reproductive health
• Social epidemiology

Dr. Marcelo Urquia is a professor at the College of Community and Global Health, University of Manitoba, and a Canada Research Chair in Applied Population Health. Dr. Urquia has been affiliated with ICES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences), and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto from 2012 to 2024). He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.

Dr. Urquia is an epidemiologist, community health scientist, and an expert in the field of gender, immigration, and health. Throughout his career, he has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles, exploring the social determinants of health, maternal and child health, reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, and the epidemiology of migration and health. He has collaborated with researchers from all corners of the globe, bringing new perspectives to the intersection of gender, migration, and health.

Dr. Urquia's research approach involves using large linked population-based multisectoral databases to understand health risks from a family perspective. He is currently developing new measures of family structure in Manitoba to help advance research in the field.

In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Urquia is a mentor, supervisor, and advocate for students and early-career researchers.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology (PhD), University of Toronto (2009)

Master of Science in Epidemiology (MSc), University of Toronto (2006)

Awards

Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (2020)

Canada Research Chair in Applied Population Health (2017)

Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (2016)

New Investigator Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2013)