Melissa Lem

Dr Melissa Lem is a Vancouver family physician who also works in rural and northern communities within Canada. Co-founder of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program, and Past President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, she is an internationally recognized leader in the field of nature and health. As a widely published writer, in-house medical columnist for CBC TV Vancouver, and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, one of her major priorities is knowledge translation. Dr. Lem is a co-investigator and advisor on two international nature-prescription research projects (PANDA and RESONATE), with total funding of $10M+. She holds multiple advisory and editorial board positions, including with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Journal of Mental Health and Climate Change, and IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Health and Well-being Specialist Group. She was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada, among the country’s highest civilian honours, for her dedicated work to advance planetary health and nature prescribing.