July 26, 2024

 

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you have been enjoying your July. Today marks the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, kicking off what may become the most sustainable Olympic games to date! The Paris games plan to reduce carbon emissions by 50% compared to previous summer games, and the city is also focusing on renewable energy for the Olympic Village and serving more plant-based food. Read more about the Olympics and their sustainability efforts here.  

 

It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Dr. Heresh Amini. Dr. Joel Schwartz, who mentored Dr. Amini during his time at Harvard, shared these memories:  

 

In one of my periodic visits to the University of Basel, my friend Nino Kuenzli introduced me to his Ph.D. student, Heresh Amini. He was bright, enthusiastic, and eager to learn about time series analysis and exposure modeling. I became part of his research committee and was amazed at how he quickly arranged a network of NO2 monitors in Tehran, obtained land use predictors, and fit a model predicting NO2 concentrations across the city. This was particularly challenging given the discrimination Kurds face in Iran. Simultaneously, he conducted a time series study on daily mortality and air pollution in Tehran. His dedication was remarkable, and when he asked me for a postdoc position, I was quick to agree. 

 

In his time at Harvard, Heresh introduced innovative ideas for generating and enhancing urban models—gathering traffic data and adjusting measurements from various monitors, eventually creating a highly detailed model. Despite personal hardships, including the loss of his parents in the Iran-Iraq war and his own exposure to poison gas, Heresh remained strong. He accepted a faculty position at the University of Copenhagen and later joined Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Everywhere he went, Heresh was celebrated for his cheerful, collaborative spirit and his willingness to help others. His absence will be deeply felt. He is survived by his wife Bahra, brother Mahamad, and 2 young daughters. 

Dr. Heresh Amini 

 

️🌟 In the Spotlight     

 

Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense; Congratulations to Dr. Joe Allen! Yesterday, Joe testified in a Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense meeting on how to overcome indoor airborne pathogens, and he highlighted the economic benefits of improving air quality. Fantastic work, Joe! 

Joe testifying before the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. 

 

ACE Award Nominations; I am delighted to share that Sally Bedugnis and John Obrycki have been nominated for the 2024 Summer ACE Award, which recognizes Harvard Chan staff for their extraordinary efforts and contributions. This is such a well-deserved recognition of both Sally and John’s exceptional dedication to our department. Thank you for all that you do! 

 

Youth Climate Summit; This week, the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) is hosting its Youth Climate Summit. This ongoing event aims to educate high school students from around the world on climate change, equity, and public health issues. Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking to this year’s students. It was so rewarding to present interactive discussions on climate issues and solutions while engaging with their thoughtful questions. I also shared insights about our department’s ongoing research, hoping to inspire them to become more involved in environmental health. For more information on the summit, check out #CCHANGESummit24! 

Students from the Youth Climate Summit outside Gordon Hall at HMS. 

 

📚 Department Updates 

 

EH Staff & Faculty Meet & Greet; On Wednesday, July 31, from 2:00 – 4:00 PM, please join us for a fun, informal staff-faculty gathering at the Countway Community Garden! We look forward to introducing several new staff leaders who have recently joined the department. Please RSVP using the link provided in your email. 

New Student Orientation; We cannot wait to welcome our students back to campus this Fall! 

Our EH Graduate Programs team has been working diligently to create opportunities for connection across our community, and we are excited to invite all EH community members to join us in welcoming our new students at Orientation on August 28, from 2:00 – 5:00 PM on the 13th floor of Building 1. This event is a great chance to connect with our new students, and we encourage you to attend if possible. 

We are also looking for volunteers. If interested, students may sign up here (responses due Wednesday, July 31). Faculty and postdocs may sign up here (responses due Wednesday, August 7). 

Here’s the event schedule: 

2:00 PM: Arrival 

(light refreshments will be served) 

2:20 PM: Welcome and Introductions 

2:30 PM: Presentation from EH Department Chair 

3:15 PM: Community Panel  

4:00 PM: Activity Breakouts 

Please RSVP by August 14 at this link. We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, please contact Alice Rugoletti.  

 

Tea of the Month; We have a new Tea of the Month for August: Peach Lemonade Acai Cold Water Infusion from Bigelow! I hope you will join us for Tea Time on Tuesdays at 1:30-2:30 pm on the 13th floor and Thursdays 2:30-3:30 pm at Landmark. Take a break from your work, enjoy some delicious tea and yummy biscuits, and catch up with your colleagues!    

 

📰 In the News 

 

• Dengue and Climate Change: A recent Associated Press article on how climate change is causing a spike in dengue virus quoted Dr. Barrak Alahmad. Barrak said this spike is disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations who will face the impacts of climate change first, including migrant workers in the UAE. 

 

• Beat this Heat: In a recent Forbes article, Dr. Caleb Dresser outlines three key approaches to tackling extreme heat: preventing the problem from worsening, helping societies adapt to a warming world, and ensuring health facilities are prepared to treat increased admissions from heat exposure. 

 

• Pollution & Cerebral Palsy: Dr. Yu Zhang was recently featured in a Healio article, where he discusses his co-authored study exploring how prenatal ambient air pollution exposure is associated with a higher risk of cerebral palsy. The study was also co-authored by Yuhong Hu, MS, Dr. Xinye Qiu and Dr. Joel Schwartz.  

 

• Go Green: A study co-authored by Dr. Francine Laden, Dr. Jamie Hart and Dr. Peter James, was featured in a new Boston University School of Public Health article. Their study found that living in greener neighborhoods during middle-age years may slow cognitive decline. 

 

• Willet’s Recipe: Dr. Walter Willet was recently featured in a Harvard Chan article discussing his co-authored study on the Planetary Health Diet. He reveals that this diet not only lowers the risk of premature death but also helps mitigate climate change. 

 

• The COVID Climate: Dr. Joe Allen was featured in a recent Scientific American article addressing the phenomenon of summer COVID spikes. Joe states that poor ventilation in buildings helps cause COVID to spread, and he expresses that we can have both energy efficiency and healthy indoor air. 

 

• Cool Down: Dr. Catharina Giudice was recently featured in an Optimist Daily article providing tips on how to deal with extreme heat. Catharina suggests those experiencing extreme heat should find shade or air conditioning, drink Pedialyte or coconut water, and apply a cold moist cloth to the back of their neck.  

 

• Climate Care: Recently, Dr. Gaurab Basu was interviewed in an article by Yale Climate Connections concerning his Climate Health Organizing Fellows Program. Gaurab expresses the importance of health care workers being messengers of climate action.  

 

 

📗 New Resources 

 

• A Harvard Gazette article reveals that search algorithms on platforms like Google can produce different results based on the query’s language, leading to biased understandings of topics. Luckily, this article suggests ways to minimize these effects, emphasizing the importance of critical interpretations in academic and professional searches. I highly suggest giving this article a read.
   

• The Glyphosate Scientific Review recently released its final draft. This report is particularly valuable for those of you interested in the potential impacts of glyphosate and its common alternative herbicides on the environment.  

   

💌 I Hear You   

Many of you have expressed interest in learning more about how to develop a public and environmental health framework that can influence and shape policy. Using research to develop and create policy is an integral component of our mission as public health researchers.  

  

To address this, I have the pleasure of announcing that we have appointed Dr. Vanessa Kerry as a secondary associate professor in the department. Vanessa is the WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health and the Director of the Harvard Medical School Program in Global Public Policy and Social Change. Vanessa will be visiting soon, so stay tuned for more details on her talk and to learn more about her fantastic insights! 

Dr. Vanessa Kerry 

 

🎓 Students Corner   

   

Trinity Consultants/Safebridge is offering scholarships to attend their occupational hygiene and toxicological “Safebridge Bootcamp” from October 15-17 in Cambridge, MA. The three-day program would provide a second-year master’s student with detailed information on the challenges for protecting workers from potent pharmaceutical compounds. To those of you interested, the scholarship application is due by Thursday, September 12, 2024.  

 

Dr. Rick Woychik, Director of the NIEHS, will be visiting our department and school on Monday, September 9. If you are interested in meeting with him, please let us know! Additionally, Dr. Woychik will be having lunch with interested students—contact Jen Razo for details. For more information on Dr. Woychik, visit his bio. 

 

🔔 Reminders 

• The Climate Change and Planetary Health interdisciplinary concentration is launching this fall at Harvard Chan School. Sign up to receive updates about the new concentration. 

• EDF will be hosting a session on the health impacts of methane emissions and co-pollutants from oil and gas operations at AGU’s December conference, located this year in Washington, DC! Submit an abstract and find more details here. 

• The deadline for abstracts is Wednesday, July 31, 2024. 

• Remember to save the date for our upcoming EH Department retreat! Everyone in the department is welcome to join us on Wednesday, October 9, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM at Simmons College. More details to come! 

• Stay updated on news, events, features, and more on our EH LinkedIn page. Complete this survey for the opportunity to be showcased! 

• Check out the Current Opportunities page on the EH website for both internal and external job postings. 

• Write to EH-Chatter@hsph.harvard.edu or complete the submission survey to have upcoming events or news included in the Chatter. Remember, your contributions and enthusiasm keep our community thriving! 

 

I hope you enjoy your weekend! Chatter will be back in your inbox on Friday, August 9. 

 

Best, 

Kari 

 

🗓️ Upcoming Events 

   

Disclaimer: Harvard Chan School seeks to bring in speakers with a wide range of experiences and perspectives. They’re here to share their own insights; they do not speak for the School or the University. 

 

Chair Open Office Hours   

Building 1, Room 1301, monthly on the first Tuesday, 1:30 – 2:00 PM.  

*Please check with Jen Razo to make sure I will be there in person. 

*Office hours will be paused during the summer months: June, July and August 

 

Tea Time  

Building 1, 13th Floor Kitchen Area, Tuesdays 1:30 – 2:30 PM 

Landmark 4 West, Thursdays 2:00 – 3:00 PM 

August Tea of the Month: BIGELOW Peach Lemonade Acai Cold Water Infusion  

 

*For any calendar event as it pertains to faith-based holidays, please click here. 

 

Saturday, July 20 – Saturday, July 27, 2024 

Event: Youth Summit on Climate, Equity, and Health 

Title: Channeling Climate Action into Climate Solutions 

Description: The annual Harvard Chan C-CHANGE Youth Summit trains students to be leaders in their communities through workshops, field-based activities, and meetings with scientists, health and policy experts, academics, energy innovators, and more. 

Location: Harvard Chan 

More Information: More details on the summit here. 

More Information: Click here for more details on the summit. 

 

Friday, July 26, 2024, 1:00 – 3:00 PM   

Event: Dissertation defense of PhD Candidate Sandra Dedesko   

Title: The Link between Buildings and Cognitive Performance 

Location: Landmark Center #414-A West 

 

Friday, July 26 – Saturday, July 27, 2024, 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM 

Event: International Workshop on Climate-Resilient Development in Southeast Asia 

Description: Through a series of talks and poster presentations, the workshop aims to promote research exchange of scholars from multiple disciplines and of diverse regional expertise on the status and dynamics of climate resilience studies, as well as to generate policy-relevant knowledge regarding climate resilient development pathways in Southeast Asian countries. 

Location: CGIS South, Tsai Auditorium, 1730 Cambridge Street and Virtual. 

Register: Register for the workshop by Wednesday, July 3, 2024. 

 

Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 2:00-4:00PM 

Event: EH Staff & Faculty Meet & Greet 

Description: Please join us for a fun, informal staff-faculty gathering at the Countway Community Garden! We look forward to introducing several new staff leaders who have recently joined the department. 

Location: Countway Community Garden  

Register: Please RSVP using link found in your email 

 

Thursday, August 15 – Friday, August 16, 2024, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM 

Event: Environmental Justice Boot Camp 

Title: Theory and Methods to Study Environmental Health Disparities 

Description: The Environmental Justice Boot Camp is a two-day intensive course featuring seminars and applied analytical sessions on key concepts, exposure assessment techniques, epidemiologic methods, community engagement and health policy applications, and statistical analytic approaches for conducting effective and solution-driven environmental justice research. 

Location: Harvard Chan and Virtual. 

Register: Register for the bootcamp here. 

More Information: Click here for details about the bootcamp. 

 

Chair Chatter Archive
2024: January, February, March, April, May, June
2023: December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2022: December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
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