New Cohort of Climate and Health Scholars Bring Expertise to NIH
Photo: NIEHS
The NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative (CCHI) named 13 researchers to the 2024-2025 cohort of Climate and Health Scholars.
The scholars will work collaboratively with NIH staff to identify critical knowledge gaps in climate and health research and translate findings into actionable interventions for vulnerable communities.
The Climate and Health Scholars Program, a key pillar of the NIH CCHI, is designed to strengthen capacity at NIH for conducting climate and health research through collaborative projects and knowledge-sharing between academia and the federal government. The scholars will share their unique expertise with NIH researchers, program staff, and the broader NIH community through seminars, workshops and innovative research projects.
Now in its third year, the Climate and Health Scholars Program continues to grow in scope and size. This cohort also represents the broadest range of academic disciplines the program has ever seen. This year, the fields of expertise include epidemiology, social science, environmental health, biomedicine, psychiatry and pharmaco-epidemiology.
In previous years, scholars organized capacity-building workshops, facilitated webinars, conducted landscape analyses, did outreach to scientific societies, and shared data resources and access strategies with their host institutes and centers. This knowledge proved invaluable, increasing interest across NIH in hosting these scholars. As a result, six new institutes, centers, and the Office of the Director are now hosting a Climate and Health Scholar for the first time this year.
“The NIH Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) is excited to host our first Climate and Health Scholar, Dr. Jaime Madrigano, who brings a wealth of experience in environmental and social determinants of health, including climate change and extreme weather, environmental pollution and environmental justice,” said Dr. Jacqueline Lloyd, senior advisor for disease prevention and ODP Climate Health Scholar ambassador. “We recognize that this partnership will be a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of climate-resilient public health.”
By embedding these experts across a greater number of institutes, centers, and offices, NIH is expanding the scope of its research programs, demonstrating support for the next generation of climate and health scientists, and positioning itself as a leader in addressing the far-reaching and complex consequences of a changing climate on human health.