ISGlobal Mourns the Loss of Dr Guillem Vich

It is with profound sadness that we learned of the loss of Dr Guillem Vich, a talented postdoctoral researcher at ISGlobal, who passed away on Thursday, 10 November 2022, following a courageous battle with cancer. 

In early 2020, Dr Vich joined the ISGlobal initiative on ‘Urban Planning, Environment and Health,’ under the supervision of Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen. He was keen to explore two main themes – the health benefits of green spaces, and the links between active modes of transport and physical activity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Vich promptly responded to the growing need for information on the impact of the lockdowns on people’s mental and physical health by launching and leading the ACTIVID project. 

With two Master’s degrees in Environment and Sustainable Development and Urban Planning and Environment Management, Dr Vich knew early on where his interests lay. Soon after, he obtained his PhD in Geography from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where he learned to utilize GIS technologies and actigraphy to understand the impact of transportation and urban planning on public health.

“Guillem was a warm, enthusiastic and dedicated researcher who had already achieved so much at an early stage of his career, he was definitely destined to reach great heights. Every day at work, he brought with him an incredible amount of optimism, knowledge, and a collaborative spirit. His absence will be greatly felt in the team,” shared his colleagues. In addition to his responsibilities as a researcher, Dr Vich was also actively supervising several Master’s students on projects on mobility, physical activity, and health.

He was currently active in a number of projects including Visitmob, a joint project with the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, that will look at the impact of tourism mobility. In 2023, he was expected to start the prestigious Margarita Salas Postdoctoral Fellowship.

We offer our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and the scientific community.