This speaker series purposed to bring together researchers on campus whose work touches on environmental impacts (e.g., air quality, water quality, weather patterns) on health, to share their current research and to foster discussion and collaboration.
This series was hosted by the iSchool’s Center for Health Informatics (CHI), in partnership with the Illinois Dept of Public Health (IDPH) and the University of Illinois’ Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI).
Spring 2025 Speakers
Tuesday, Apr 8, 2025, 12 PM -1 PM CT
Title: The Long-run Effect of Air Pollution on Survival
Abstract: Many environmental hazards have long-run health effects, but quasi-experimental studies typically measure outcomes and treatment over short time periods. We develop a new framework for quantifying the effect of air pollution exposure on life expectancy. Using changes in wind direction as an instrument for daily sulfur dioxide levels, we first characterize the dynamic mortality effects of short-run exposure. We then incorporate these estimates into a demographic model to quantify the lifelong effects of a permanent reduction in air pollution exposure. Ninety percent of the survival benefits accrue after the first fifty years of life.
Brief Bio: Dr. Julian Reif is Associate Professor of Finance and Economics at Gies College of Business, University of Illinois. He is also affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, J-PAL North America, the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. His research has been supported by J-PAL North America, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2025, 12 PM -1 PM CT
Title: A Climate Plan for Illinois Natural and Working Lands Plus: geospatial analysis and modeling
Abstract: This presentation outlines a state-wide approach to leveraging natural and working lands for climate change mitigation in Illinois. The plan aims to establish the current and potential contribution of natural and working lands toward meeting Illinois’ climate commitments under the USCA and Paris Climate Agreement. The initiative features high-resolution (30×30 meter) GHG emissions and ecosystem services inventory with a primary focus on carbon sequestration and biodiversity. The work highlights how the Illinois landscape has lost significant carbon sequestration capacity since the 1800s, with current sequestration at approximately 22 million metric tons compared to 43 million historically. Through stakeholder engagement across multiple sectors and detailed scenario modeling, the plan will establish potential pathways toward net-zero land based emissions. The “Plus” component advances Illinois’ 30×30 Task Force goals by establishing a comprehensive science-based framework for land management and conservation.
Bio: Dr Brian Deal is a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois and Director of the Land use Evolution and impact Assessment Modeling (LEAM) laboratory. Dr. Deal is active in a large number of national and international research initiatives on smart, sustainable places and climate change His scholarship focuses on spatial geoanalytics and dynamic systems modeling.
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2025, 12 PM -1 PM CT
Title: Hospitals Should Help Address Climate Change Through Community Health Needs Assessments
Abstract: Tax exempt hospitals and public health districts engage with community organizations and residents every three years in assessing and prioritizing community health needs, and then in developing implementation plans to address the priority needs. With climate change affecting the health of every resident of Illinois and worsening, these community health needs assessments should integrate climate-related metrics and spur hospitals to engage with communities in climate resilience planning and education, prepare their operations for extreme weather and poor air quality conditions, reduce their environmental footprints, and advocate for climate resilience policies.
Breif Bio: Dr. Warren Lavey is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, teaching sustainability law and policy in the College of Law, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and School of Earth, Society & Environment. He is active in community engagement projects and with the Planetary Health Alliance, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Union of Concerned Scientists, and other organizations. Lavey earned juris doctor, master of science in applied math, and BA degrees from Harvard University, and a diploma in economics from Cambridge University.
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2025, 12 PM -1 PM CT
Title: This Bites: Vector-Borne Diseases and Environmental Change
Abstract: Vector-borne diseases are highly sensitive to environmental change, sitting at the intersection of vector, host, and pathogen interactions. Using Illinois as an example, we will discuss how environmental changes (climate, land use, and extreme weather) can shift vector ranges, pathogen abundance, and host exposure.
Brief Bio: Dr. Becky Smith is an infectious disease epidemiologist working at the One Health interface of human, animal, and environmental health. She is an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, a Health Innovation Professor in the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine, and a PI with the Midwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease. Her work focuses on surveillance for and control of infectious diseases across a range of systems, pathogens, and hosts.
Tuesday, Mar 4, 2025, 12 PM -1 PM CT
Title: Health Impacts and Disparities in a Changing Climate: Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract: Climate change causes significant acute and chronic health impacts, disproportionately falling on the most vulnerable communities. While there is not one single best solution, there are many effective solutions for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change on health in Illinois. We’ll discuss climate change, present and future, health implications, and the important solutions and roles healthcare professionals and providers play.
Brief Bio: Dr. Trent Ford is the Illinois State Climatologist and has been with the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois since 2019. He is an expert in climate and climate change and its interactions and impacts, especially as they relate to water. Trent leads climate and drought monitoring, research, and data collection for the state of Illinois. He and his team work with communities, industries, and state agencies on issues related to weather, climate, and climate change in Illinois, and engage the general public through online, media, and educational outreach. A native of Roanoke, Illinois, Ford earned a bachelor’s in geography from Illinois State University before completing his master’s and PhD at Texas A&M University.
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025, 12 PM – 1 PM CT
Title: Environmental Inequality Formation and Participatory Design: Developing ChiVes, a Mapping & Data Collaborative for Chicago Climate Resilience
Abstract: Integrating social, economic, health, and environmental factors at small area scales for dynamic interaction and exploration is integral to assessing the various dimensions of community vulnerability to environmental injustice, as well as enabling decision-making by policymakers, health advocates, as well as communities most impacted. To better understand climate challenges and advocate for improved policy and resources, communities need more accessible data, the ability to integrate their own stories, and carefully incorporated frameworks that strive to ensure that injustice is not reproduced in the research process itself. The ChiVes platform, an open-source mapping application linking dozens of indicators at the neighbourhood level in Chicago, serves as a decentralized spatial data infrastructure focused on stakeholder relationships, integrating data and processes that consider the social and historical aspects of environmental injustice. ChiVes links air pollution and temperature measures from multiple projects alongside greenspace, built environment, housing, health, historical, and resource data, and also includes a resource guide and community report tool. It has been used to support tree plantings, make the case for cooling centres, and as a teaching tool in environmental justice. A new flexible, multi-criterion “index builder” enables residents to develop new metrics with available data on the fly. Using co-design participatory approaches and inspired by the environmental inequality formation framework, the ChiVes platform interface continues to be refined by city residents. Future research in spatial decision support frameworks supporting environmental justice may benefit from participatory design and Open Science approaches.
Brief Bio: Dr. Marynia Kolak is a health geographer and spatial epidemiologist integrating a socio-ecological view of health, spatial data science, and a human-centred design approach to investigate regional and neighbourhood health equity. Kolak is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography & GIScience and serves as PI on the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Place project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and MPI on the Localize Opioid Use Disorder (LOUD) study by NIDA/NIH. They are also an Associate Editor at Preventing Chronic Disease, Journal of Maps, and Cartography and Geographic Information Science, and Vice Chair of the Health & Medical Specialty Group at the American Association of Geographers.