Health-Atmosphere Nexus Group
Climate Change and Health Care Report
April 2024
We are privileged to contribute to the Center for Houston's Future's report that examines the intersection of climate change and health care in Houston. This collaborative effort with sister institutions at Texas Medical Center and local healthcare systems focuses on advancing climate resilience to build a healthier community.
The full report is accessible HERE.
Edward won NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
April 2024
We are so proud that our Edward won the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship! Edward came from a computer vision and economics background and joined HANG as a researcher in 2023. His project is about applying AI to wildfire prevention. The photo captures the moment that Edward and Dr. Hang were discussing the fellowship proposal at a Thai restaurant.
Congratulations, Edward! Great job!
2023 American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting
December 2023
We presented and contributed four studies at the AGU Meeting, covering topics including air pollution, wildfires, and health disparities. We hosted a meeting session about climate and health and assisted NASA with a session on environmental justice and equity. Additionally, Dr. Hang was selected as the new Co-Chair of the AGU GeoHealth Early Career Committee.
AGU is a nonprofit organization that includes 130,000 people. More information about AGU GeoHealth can be found HERE.
2023 Lancet Countdown on health and climate change
November 2023
The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration committed to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change. Collaborating with Emory University and the Finnish Meteorological Institute, we contributed the Wildfires indicator to the report.
Image credits to The Lancet Countdown. Read the full article with our personalized 50 days' free access HERE.
New publication on health disparity
November 2023
Previous studies have reported that particulate elemental carbon (EC) may have elevated toxicity. However, developing a ground monitoring network for EC is difficult. To face the challenge, we combined satellite remote sensing, machine learning techniques, and atmospheric big data to estimate long-term EC exposures in data-poor regions.
Read the open-access publication HERE.
The Rollins Magazine featured our work
October 2023
Our work on the application of NASA satellite observations to promote environmental justice was featured in the Rollins Magazine Cover Story, "Exposing the Exposome". Alongside world-class Rollins researchers, we use exposure science to understand how our environments influence our health and why the effects can vary so widely among different people and spaces.
Picture credits to the Rollins Magazine. Read the Story HERE.
Welcome Dr. John Nally
October 2023
Dr. John Nally, our newest team member, brings a wealth of experience to the group. He is a two-time US military veteran and a retired FAA air traffic controller dedicated to ensuring the safety of travelers. Moreover, he holds a Medical Doctor degree and has over 11 years of clinical and occupational medicine experience. Dr. Nally has always been fascinated by space technology and the effects of pollution on people, so he is excited to join Dr. Hang’s team.
Dr. Hang moved to UT & Welcome new members
September 2023
Dr. Hang completed her postdoctoral training in Environmental Health at Emory and moved to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Photo credits to UTHealth.
New group members Edward and Yating joined our team. Edward comes from the University of Pennsylvania with a background in computer science and economics. Yating graduated from the University of Southern California with a MS in Biostatistics. Welcome!
First group photo
July 2023
We took our first group photo at the office of CNR 7024, Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Although we only have two group members, we enjoyed numerous wonderful moments with our colleagues at Emory and in Atlanta. We are especially grateful for the support from the Emory Environmental Remote Sensing Group, where we grew up.
Our meeting session proposal was accepted
June 2023
Together with our collaborators from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Boston University, we have submitted a successful meeting session, GH015 'Effectively Using Climate Data for Health Applications,' for the 2023 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. This meeting session will be part of the GeoHealth section, which aims to understand the interactions between the environment and health.
Ethan presented his research at GA climate conference
May 2023
Ethan was selected to present his research project on applying satellite remote sensing to environmental justice at the 2023 Georgia Climate Conference (photo credits to Garry Harris). During his talk, he had great discussions with researchers, community stakeholders, and the EPA Region Administrator. This was the first time Ethan attended an academic meeting. Very well done! Congratulations!
We held a successful community workshop
April 2023
Supported by NASA, we held another successful community engagement workshop in Atlanta, GA. It's a multi-institutional collaboration between Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, Hercules Exposome Research Center, and the Center for Sustainable Communities. This photo shows our engagement leaders, Dr. Melanie Pearson and Mr. Garry Harris, introducing the power of NASA Earth Observations to support climate change and environmental justice research.