Daaniya Iyaz

“I always knew I was broadly interested in health and the environment, but I didn’t even realize the field of environmental and occupational health existed until I impulsively took a class on global climate change and public health (ENV H 220) as an undergraduate. After reaching out and talking to multiple faculty members in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, I knew this was the right field for me.

When I first started the master’s degree program, I felt a little overwhelmed. The research opportunities here are so numerous and varied that it can be hard to narrow down what you want to focus on! But the faculty and staff in the department worked tirelessly with me, helping me define my interests and gain the skills I need to be successful.

My master’s thesis focuses on how wildfire smoke events affect pediatric hospital admissions and health outcomes in the Seattle area. As someone who has spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve seen how wildfires are being exacerbated by climate change, so focusing on a project that explores the relationships between climate change, wildfires and human health is important to me.

I’m still figuring out what I want to do once I graduate, but I hope to work in the public sector or as an environmental consultant to help determine how climate change impacts public health and develop strategies to make our communities more resilient.”