Dr. Deon Canyon joined the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in 2016 after working at the University of Hawaii, Curtin University and James Cook University where he focused on global health protection, health security and crisis management. A Hawai‘i resident since 2011, Dr. Canyon is well regarded as a crisis scholar for his work on vector-borne disease, bioterrorism preparedness, crisis management auditing, and crisis leadership.
Following a career in multicultural arts and theatre, Dr. Canyon became fascinated by the complex subtleties of infectious vector-borne diseases, and was awarded a scholarship to complete a science-based PhD with a dissertation on dengue transmission dynamics and integrated vector control. After he completed a master’s degree in the broad field of public health he began to investigate the interplay between disasters and management practices. This led to another scholarship and a second doctorate in business administration with a focus on crisis leadership. Having broad multidisciplinary research interests, Dr. Canyon worked in several disparate fields with the common thread being the understanding, management, control and prevention of threatening situations that involve complex and dynamic interactions. His interest in crisis management, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction began with a research project on bioterrorism preparedness competencies in health leaders. Subsequently, collaborative work with several distinguished international crisis scholars led to the development of curricula on crisis leadership and health security. Specific related activities included crisis management audits on over 130 organizations and interviews with 2000 leaders from business, health and emergency management organizations in Australia, Papua New Guinea, India and the Philippines.
Having coordinated and taught undergraduate and postgraduate university students since 1996, Dr. Canyon has significant experience in curriculum development and teaching. He has taught on crisis leadership and management, governance, security sector development, risk management, security in Oceania, bioterrorism, preparedness, health protection and security, global changes and human health, environmental health, medical entomology, and inclusion. His teaching style has a reputation for relying on evidence-based information, engaging students in thought-provoking discussions and stimulating critical analysis. He proactively encourages students and colleagues to continue life-long learning for professional and personal development. More recently, Dr. Canyon has forayed into the exciting world of serious games and adversarial exercises. His transnational security exercises involve 30-110 people and develop abductive reasoning by requiring decision-making in fast-paced, politically charged, crisis-laden environments.
Dr. Canyon has published over 175 peer- reviewed journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, books and conference papers, reviewed for over 40 journals, served on several editorial boards, and is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine. Having been a Papua New Guinea citizen, Dr. Canyon speaks Tok Pisin, Bislama and Solomon Pijin, and is well acquainted with the traditional practices and cultural norms of Pacific Islanders and Australian Aboriginals.
Dr. Canyon’s Publications:
- Faculty members attend the fourth Mekong-U.S. Partnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue
- DKI APCSS Releases Book on Oceania Security
- Improving Pandemic Response with Military Tools: Using Enhanced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
- Policy recommendations for combatting overfishing and fisheries crime
- Learning to Live with Endemic Covid-19
- A Biodefense Fusion Center to Improve Disease Surveillance and Early Warnings to Enhance National Security
- Military and Private Sector HADR – Now a Sophisticated Tool for Strategic Competition
- Wargaming Future National Security Threats Posed by Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases
- Combating Health-Related Cyber Security Threats with Health Systems Approaches
- Senior Leaders Wargame Insights into the U.S. – North Korea Nuclear Standoff
- China’s Manipulative Use of Climate Change
- Goldilocks Power and the Reform of Irregular Warfare in a Changing World
- India Leading International HADR Cooperation in South Asia
- SARS-COV-2 Mutations, Variants, and National Security
- An International Public Health and Virus Surveillance Network for National Security
- Anti-Vaccine Sentiment – an Existential Disrupter of National and International Security
- Looking Forward: Pandemic, Economic, Vaccine and Social Predictions for ‘Year Two’
- Time for the Pacific Islands Forum to Step-Back and Heal
- A Network of Maritime Fusion Centers Throughout the Indo-Pacific
- Competitive Security Gaming: Rethinking Wargaming to Provide Competitive Intelligence that Informs Strategic Competition and National Security
- Planning for Military Involvement in an Indo-Pacific Pandemic Vaccination Program
- Is the U.S. Relationship with Australia Detrimental to Strategic Aspirations with Papua New Guinea?
- Perceptions of U.S. Posture in Papua New Guinea
- Strategic Competition, National Security and the Need for ‘Competitive Intelligence’
- Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Fusion Centers
- Gaming Major Power Rivalry and Climate Disasters Using Systems Tools
- Why Militaries Should Play Games With Each Other
- China’s Global Security Aspirations with Afghanistan and the Taliban
- An International Biodefense Shield Alliance against Pathogens from China
- Why We Need a Regional Approach for Crisis Management with North Korea
- The Intersection of Global Health, Military Medical intelligence, and National Security in the Management of Transboundary Hazards and Outbreaks
- Policy Guidance for Pakistan’s Oscillation Response to COVID-19
- A Health Security Pandemic Checklist for Developing Nations and Donors
- Urgent Policies Required to Grant Public Access to Protected Health Information during Emergency Disease Outbreaks and Pandemics
- Structuring ASEAN military involvement in disaster management and the ASEAN Militaries Ready Group
- The Post-COVID19 World: Globalization with Different Characteristics
- The Nexus Between the COVID-19 Pandemic, International Relations, and International Security
- COVID-19 Lockdown Easing and Restricting Color Framework for Local Government
- Sending the COVID-19 Immune to Work to Prevent Economic Catastrophe
- Perceptions of Indigenous Security Practitioners on China’s Geostrategic Activities in the Pacific
- The Value of Thought Leadership in a World in Crisis
- Incremental Community-Based Exit Strategies for Initiating and Removing Covid-19 Lockdowns
- New paper on Synchronized Humanitarian, Military and Commercial Logistics
- The Critical Role of Crisis Resilience in Building and Sustaining Political, Economic and Social Stability
- Faculty addresses HADR rationale in Indo-Pacific
- Health Security in Hawaii by 2050: The Physical Effects of Climate Change
- DKI APCSS & RSIS joint publication on Disaster Response Regional Architectures Assessing Future Possibilities
- Effects of Climate Change on Volcanic Emissions and Health Security in Hawaii by 2050
- Associate Professor Canyon Co-Authors New Paper
- The Integration of International Migrants into Western Society
