Nathan Nickel, MPH, PhD

Dr. Nickel is a professor in the College of Community and Globa Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, director of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and associate editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal.

As a population health scientist, Dr. Nickel focuses on generating evidence to inform policy decision-making.

He began his research career collaborating with hospitals to implement and evaluate maternity practices aimed at supporting the health and well-being of mothers and their infants. Since then, he has worked with stakeholder groups and communities to investigate maternal-child health outcomes related to social programs, as well as the social and structural determinants of health and well-being.

Through his partnerships, Dr. Nickel has expanded his focus to examine how substance use and justice involvement intersect with social and structural determinants and their subsequent impact on well-being.

Dr. Nickel has authored maternal-child health policy statements for the American Public Health Association, participated in pan-Canadian working groups on health equity, and produced evidence that has guided provincial decisions on treatment for people living with substance use.

He volunteers at local and national levels, serving on boards for community health organizations and research groups, as well as scientific planning committees for professional organizations.

Currently, Dr. Nickel teaches principles of epidemiology, an introductory course for graduate students. He previously taught a course on quantitative methods for causal inference.

Dr. Nickel enjoys working with students. His graduate trainees have gained diverse experiences, including working with decision-makers, contributing to peer-reviewed publications, and participating in extracurricular trainings and workshops. They regularly receive awards at local and national levels for their research.