Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Jason W. Nickerson RRT, FCSRT, PhD

Research Interests

Dr. Nickerson’s work focuses on the intersection of health systems, public policy, and crisis response, with an emphasis on how decisions are made and implemented in complex, high-stakes environments. In particular, he is interested in public health responses focused on the needs of older adults during high-consequence infectious disease outbreaks (Ebola, Marburg, COVID, etc.) and bioterrorism events, and on improving access to respiratory therapy and respiratory care in Canada. His research work is directly linked to his policy work at the CSRT and in the clinical environment at Bruyère, making tangible links between research, policy, and advocacy.

His research and policy interests include:

• Emerging infectious diseases and high-consequence infectious diseases, including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, and pandemic influenza
• Medical countermeasures development and deployment, including vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for high-consequence infectious diseases and bioterrorism events
• Health system preparedness and resilience during public health emergencies
• Access to medicines, medical devices, and other health technologies with a particular focus on respiratory diseases (e.g. access to oxygen, mechanical ventilation, and diagnostic testing for respiratory diseases)
• Health workforce planning and models of care for respiratory therapy and in long-term care settings
• Health systems in crisis and disrupted settings, including conflict, epidemics, and disasters
• Decision-making under uncertainty, including leadership and human factors in crisis environments
• Humanitarian diplomacy and health diplomacy in the context of crisis settings

He is particularly interested in research and collaborations that bridge frontline experience with applied and operational research programs, and is open to collaborations that drive meaningful change for people and populations that are often neglected or left behind from public health responses.

Dr. Jason Nickerson is a health policy leader, humanitarian practitioner, and a researcher working at the intersection of health systems, crisis response and management, and health policy. He is the Senior Director of Public Policy for the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT), an Investigator at the Bruyère Health Research Institute in Ottawa, an Assistant Professor (status-only) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and an Adjunct Professor of Common Law in the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Nickerson has more than two decades of experience across clinical patient care, global public health, health policy development, and health systems leadership. He spent a decade working with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, including serving as the Humanitarian Representative to Canada, where he worked at the interface of frontline operations, humanitarian diplomacy, and emergency public health as MSF’s head of advocacy and diplomacy in Canada. His field experience includes extensive work during armed conflicts, infectious disease outbreaks, and complex humanitarian emergencies in Afghanistan, Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. He gained particular, unique experience working to improve access to medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic tests) for high-consequence infectious diseases such as Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa, among others.

Trained as a respiratory therapist with experience in adult critical care and anesthesia, his work now focuses on improving access to healthcare through policy, research, and practice, with a focus on improving the emergency public health responses for older adults during high-consequence infectious diseases such as viral hemorrhagic fevers and bioterrorism events, and improving access to respiratory care and respiratory disease management in Canada.  He is particularly interested in how decisions are made under pressure in complex and uncertain environments.