Rachel Nethery Receives Climate Change Solutions Fund Award

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Rachel Nethery, whose research on “Characterizing Wildfire Smoke Health Impacts and Identifying Vulnerable Populations: A 10-year Study of the Western U.S.” was one of the winning projects who will share $1.3 million in the eighth round of the Harvard University Climate Change Solutions Fund (CCSF) awards. A very strong set of proposals from across the University’s 12 Schools were considered, with only 10 projects selected by the review committee.

“Aiming for impact at both the local and global level, these projects will seek to reduce the risks of climate change, hasten the transition to renewable energy, diminish the impact of existing fossil fuels on the climate, understand and prepare for the effects of climate change, and propel innovations needed to accelerate progress toward a healthier, more sustainable future.”

See Dr. Nethery’s project description below and read more in the Harvard Gazette:

With wildfire severity in the Western U.S. projected to continue increasing over the coming decades, wildfire smoke exposure presents an escalating threat to human health. Implementing resilience building programs in high-risk communities is one of the most effective tactics for minimizing climate change-related health burdens. The aim of this project is to study past wildfire smoke exposure in order to inform resilience-building efforts. Specifically, the project will examine the impacts of exposure on more than 100 health outcomes over a 10-year period to identify drivers of vulnerability and create county-level wildfire smoke risk profiles.