Interests
- Develop practical methods to effectively characterize heat exposure and heat-related outcomes, and apply these methods to the development and evaluation of approaches to reduce heat-related health risks in vulnerable populations;
- Evaluate and compare health benefits of different conservation interventions to inform decision-making and progress toward global sustainable development and climate goals;
- Partner with communities and other stakeholders to document, enhance awareness of, and address heat health-related disparities
Projects
A Multi-Level Approach to Heat Related Illness Prevention for Agricultural Workers
This study works in collaboration with Washington state growers and workers, community partners, and Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet Program to develop and evaluate a multi-level Heat Education & Awareness Tools (HEAT) approach to prevent adverse heat health effects. The approach addresses risk factors for agricultural workers at individual, workplace, and community levels using a heat awareness mobile application for supervisors and participatory educational materials for workers.
Creating Climate Resilient Agricultural Communities in the Tropics Through Natural Climate Solutions
Natural climate solutions (NCS) are land stewardship practices that can contribute to climate change mitigation and provide ecosystem services that affect population health. This project examines how potential future climate and land use scenarios (i.e., deforestation patterns) affect heat exposure, health, and productivity in agricultural communities in industrializing tropical countries. The ultimate goal is to identify NCS portfolios that maximize community resilience and capacity. This project involves an interdisciplinary team of atmospheric sciences, public health, and economics experts from the UW and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and leverages TNC’s policy community ties to integrate project results into climate change mitigation and adaptation decision-making processes.
Integrating Human Health Risks from Fire into Forest Restoration Planning
This project brings together a diverse multi-sector, multi-disciplinary group of practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers to more fully incorporate human health implications of smoke from wild and managed forest fires into forest restoration planning and implementation. The project integrates human health risks into spatial and temporal planning for forest management.
