Dr. Helle Møller
From nursing in Denmark to studying tuberculosis in Nunavut to researching and teaching in Greenland, Dr. Helle Møller's life has been anything but boring. Throughout these many adventures, she has actively contributed towards furthering health knowledge and practice - and continues to do so within Lakehead's public health program as a professor and graduate supervisor.
Originally from Denmark where she began her health career as a nurse, Dr. Møller moved to Nunavut to continue her practice and found the experience to be stimulating yet highly challenging. "During this work, I realized the shortcomings of my own education when caring for populations from different ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and environmental backgrounds." To inform herself, Dr. Møller started to take a few anthropology courses and developed a passion for the field and a keen interest in the social determinants of health.
Several years down the road, while Dr. Møller's interests continue to revolve around Arctic health and health education, she now finds herself involved in a diverse line of exciting projects. Through partnerships with the Thunder Bay Research Institute and the Universities of Southern Denmark and Greenland, she has worked to develop more accessible cervical cancer screening and prevention methods for women in Northwestern Ontario and is currently working on a similar project in Greenland.
She's also investigating the influence of early nursing in Nunavut and Greenland on public health today and is presently exploring how the environment impacts the activity level and well being of senior populations in Denmark and Northern Ontario.
Now, as an accomplished nurse, anthropologist, and health researcher, Dr. Møller certainly brings many years of international experience and a multidisciplinary knowledge base and skill set to Lakehead's public health department.
She explains how the MPH program is uniquely diverse and consequently opens doors to numerous employment and research opportunities, all with the potential to make a difference in the health of individuals, communities, and populations. "The program offers a wealth of fantastic courses and dedicated educators with a wide range of experiences and research interests."