Prof. Irena Frances Creed is a distinguished ecosystem scientist with wide-ranging research interests spanning planetary health, climate change, ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, sustainability, communities-at-risk, and the science-policy interface.
Her work has made valuable contributions to environmental science across continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. As the Wetlands and Aquatic Ecosystems Lead at UNU-INWEH, she is setting up a research initiative focused on the impacts of global changes on the physical, biogeochemical, and ecological functions of wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes, and the consequences of these changes to human health and well-being. In addition to her role at UNU-INWEH, Dr. Creed serves as a Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Prof. Creed's research contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Canada Research Chair program, an honorary doctorate from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, and fellowship in both the Royal Society of Canada and the American Geophysical Union. In 2020, she was awarded the Bancroft Award by the Royal Society of Canada, becoming the second woman to achieve this honor since its inception in 1968 for her outstanding contributions to earth sciences.