Heat

What’s the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke? What’s the "half-half" rule for staying hydrated? Which two common medical conditions put you at greater risk for heat illness? With our Pacific Northwest summer now in full sizzle, people who work outdoors should take extra precautions to keep themselves safe in the heat.

Dr. Tzu-Hsin Karen Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning and the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington, where she is also affiliated with the Data Science program. As a geographer, Dr. Chen finds great interest in the synergy of machine learning and satellite imagery analysis.

Joan A. Casey received her doctoral degree from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2014. Dr. Casey is an environmental epidemiologist who focuses on environmental health, environmental justice, and sustainability.

Resham Patel is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington, with 15 years of local and national experience as a public health professional.

Dr. Burkhart is a geographer and climate scientist and is an Assistant Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. In this role, she works on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, conducting research on environmental risks and methods to include exposure to suboptimal temperature. Dr.

Dr. Kasner is an Assistant Teaching Professor with a research focus on leveraging technology to prevent injury and illness among working populations.

Howard Frumkin is Senior Vice President with the Trust for Public Land and Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he served as Dean from 2010-2016. After serving as Dean, he led the “Our Planet, Our Health” initiative at the Wellcome Trust in London from 2018-2019.

Dr. Spector is a physician-scientist with a focus on the prevention and management of adverse health outcomes related to heat exposure in working populations. 

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. Nicole Errett’s research focuses on the development, implementation and health impacts of policies and programs that aim to build resilience in the context of public health emergencies, disasters and climate change.

Dr. Kristie L. Ebi is Professor in the University of Washington Center for Health and the Global Environment. She has been conducting research and practice on the health risks of climate variability and change for nearly 25 years.

Tania Busch Isaksen is Teaching Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator for the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).