Jeremy J. Hess, MD, MPH
About
Dr. Hess is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Global Health and Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington. He serves as the director of the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE). Dr. Hess has an MD and an MPH in global environmental health and is residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine.
Dr. Hess is a lead author on several national and international climate assessments, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, and the fifth US National Climate Assessment. He is also an author on the annual Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.
His research interest is in climate change and health, including climate change adaptation in the health sector and health co-benefits of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He is also very interested in advancing public health practice related to climate change through development and implementation of interventions to reduce climate change risks.
Dr. Hess previously worked as a senior medical adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the health effects of climate change. He is a section editor at the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine and a recipient of the Presidential GreenGov award. His work has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, NASA, the Wellcome Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among other funders.
Education
- MD, Emory University
- MPH, Emory University
Affiliations
Mentorship
Available to mentor new Master's students in autumn 2026. Please follow the instructions on the How To Apply page.
DEOHS Students Mentored
Nonprofit Hospitals and Climate-Sensitive Hazards: A Content Analysis of Community Health Needs Assessments in High-Risk United States Counties
Rachael Carter | MS Thesis | 2025 | View
Environmental and population factors influencing dengue fever emergence and spread in Saudi Arabia
Kholood Altassan | PhD | 2020 | View
Research
Heat epidemiology in South Asia.
Development and evaluation of heat early-warning systems and heat action plans.
Health department preparation for climate change health impacts.
Development of the evidence base for climate change adaptation in public health.
Health co-benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Climate change and health equity
Publications
Selected publications
- Survey of extreme heat public health preparedness plans and response activities in the most populous jurisdictions in the United States
- Barriers and facilitators to state public health agency climate and health action: a qualitative assessment
- A novel climate and health decision support platform: Approach, outputs, and policy considerations
- In the Hot Seat: Saving Lives from Extreme Heat in Washington state
- Too Hot To Thrive: Community perspectives on the effect of high ambient temperature on postpartum women and neonates in Kilifi, Kenya
Engagement
Equity, diversity and inclusion
I am committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of my work, including my research, practice, teaching and service within and outside the university. I am an emergency physician and share my specialty's commitment to equitable health care access. I am also a strong advocate for universal health coverage. My public health work focuses on climate change and health, and through my work, I highlight the stark inequities in climate change health impacts globally and in the US. I strive to identify opportunities to address historical wrongs through policies, programs and interventions that support equitable access to health protections and opportunities to improve livelihoods and well-being. My teaching and mentoring aim to provide students and trainees with skills to assess and address disproportionate exposures and cumulative health impacts and to work with communities to develop and implement equitable solutions. I strive to partner with community-based organizations and practice partners who are also committed to community-engaged research and knowledge co-production and whose research, funding and practice activities reflect these commitments.
Community and research partnerships
We work closely with multiple community and government partners. Recent collaborative public health projects and research partnerships include work with: Public Health - Seattle & King County, Washington State Department of Public Health, Front & Centered, Association of State and Territorial Health Organizations, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
Teaching practices
I teach ENVH 479/579: Climate Change and Public Health Practice. I also teach emergency medicine at the bedside to medical students and residents, and direct the Department of Emergency Medicine's Population Health Research Fellowship. I support multiple postdoctoral fellows and mentor master's and doctoral students. My didactic teaching focuses on my primary area of interest, developing and implementing strategies to support a robust public health response to climate change in the US and globally. My class outlines the major threats that climate change poses to health and outlines the skills and approaches that public health practitioners need to effectively engage with the myriad challenges that climate change poses to population health, from vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning to surveillance and climate epidemiology to community engagement and multi-sectoral risk reduction planning to advance equitable adaptation. The class focuses on both domestic (US) and global climate change impacts and public health practice needs.
Service
In addition to service on multiple committees within my various departments, my service within the university is focused on advancing sustainability and climate action in the university's activities and operations. Outside the university, I serve on several editorial boards, the American Meteorological Society's Board on Environmental Health, and as an author on several national and international climate assessments.