Ross Upshur, MD - What Does the Disappearance of the Aral Sea Tell Us About Planetary Health?

Ross Upshur, MD

Ross Upshur BA (Hons.), MA, MD, MSc, MCFP, FRCPC, FCAHS is currently the Dalla Lana Chair in Clinical Public Health and Associate Director of the Collaborative Centre for Climate Health and Sustainable Care. At the University of Toronto, he is a Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Family and Community Medicine, affiliate member of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, a Member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics and co-Director of the University of Toronto WHO Collaborating Centre in Bioethics.

He was previously a staff physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital\Sinai Health System and Associate Director of the Lunenfeld-Tannenbaum Research Institute.

What does the disappearance of the Aral Sea tell us about planetary health?

Dr. Upshur will describe the events that led to the desiccation of the Aral Sea, explore its impacts on human and ecological health, and elaborate on its significance in the context of ongoing human impacts on planetary health.

 

This event is part of the Fall 2026 Speaker series.