Brown launches initiative to explore connection between environment and health – The Brown Daily Herald


Last month, Brown’s Division of Biology and Medicine announced the launch of the Planetary Health Initiative, which aims to study the relationship between human-induced environmental changes and health.
As the climate warms to record highs — a phenomenon scientists primarily attribute to human activity — the health of many communities is threatened by environmental impacts ranging from extreme weather events to increased risk of zoonotic disease spread, according to Kyle Denison Martin, the initiative’s co-director.
The PHI hopes to protect local and global communities from these negative health impacts, and to integrate the field of planetary health into undergraduate and graduate curricula, Martin said.
In alignment with the division’s four pillars — educational opportunities, research, clinical work and community engagement — the initiative will be a collective effort, incorporating the efforts of clinicians, researchers, scientists and students, Martin said.
The initiative emerged from the efforts of Warren Alpert students to view medicine through a more holistic lens, said Emily Wang ’22 MD’26. 
“We’re trying to recognize all the factors that contribute to a patient’s health, and one of those increasing factors is the role climate change plays in our lives,” Wang added. 
The PHI’s goals, Martin said, are four-fold. Firstly, they hope to protect hospitals in low-lying areas that are susceptible to flooding — especially as Rhode Island sees more and more rainfall every year.
The initiative also aims to increase sustainability in healthcare systems, which often produce tons of plastic waste. Alongside Martin, Katie Wainwright MD’27 recently led a pilot study to trial the use of bulk-packaged scalpel blades, rather than the more common individually plastic-wrapped ones. 
Martin said the PHI also plans to investigate whether vulnerable populations, such as the unhoused, elderly and low-income communities, are at “higher risk of weather-related illness or heat-related illness” due to their living conditions.
Lastly, the PHI aims to address the growing spread of infectious diseases due to rising temperatures in Rhode Island. The multidrug-resistant fungus Candida auris — which researchers believe could have developed in part from warming temperatures — poses severe risks to immunocompromised patients, Martin added. 
Beyond its broader community-level work, the initiative plans to foster student learning in planetary health by providing more resources for undergraduate, graduate and medical school students interested in the field. 
Undergraduates can pursue the planetary health track within the health and human biology concentration or take courses like BIOL1255: “Climate Change and Health: Infections and Inequalities” and BIOL1455: “Planetary Health: Global Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Disease.” The Pathobiology Graduate Program gives students the opportunity to integrate the environment and health into their studies, while Warren Alpert Medical School students can engage with the elective planetary health scholarly concentration to conduct project-based work in the field.
But outside of academic pursuits, the initiative also hopes to create opportunities for students in clinical research and community engagement projects, said Kate Smith, the initiative’s co-director and the senior associate dean of biology education. 
While the PHI’s official mission will be determined by a steering committee composed of clinicians and researchers in the coming months, student engagement will be a focus, Smith said. The PHI will also soon “issue a call for student committee participation,” according to the launch announcement.
While the initiative is still in its early stages, the committee is already working quickly to showcase the work they have in store. The Division of Biology and Medicine will host their inaugural Planetary Health Symposium on May 1, which will include panels, a student poster event and guest speakers, according to Smith.
Jonathan Kim is a senior staff writer covering Science and Research. He is a first-year student from Culver City, California planning to study Public Health or Health and Human Biology. In his free time, you can find him going for a run, working on the NYT crossword or following the Dodgers.
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