Drexel Climate Change & Urban Health Research Center

Leveraging the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative's broad network of partners across Latin America and the United States, this grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports the establishment of the Drexel Climate Change and Urban Health Research Center (CCUH). The CCUH supports the research needed to understand what cities can do to protect the growing urban populations of the world from the adverse effects of climate change in ways that promote health and equity among the rapidly increasing number of urban residents.

The Center is a partnership between the UHC, Institute for Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), three institutions in Brazil, and the Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California, Berkeley.

There are four core areas of focus at the CCUH:

First, an administrative core is led by Ana Diez Roux, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the UHC and distinguished university professor of epidemiology at DSPH, and Usama Bilal, MD, MPH, PhD, co-director of the UHC and assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, who support the overall organization of the center and its partnerships. Bilal will also lead a research project that will investigate inequities by neighborhood and the effects of extreme heat on mortality within cities in the U.S. and Latin America.

A research capacity building core led by Brisa Sánchez, associate dean for research and Dornsife endowed professor of biostatistics, and Fernanda Kroker of INCAP, will conduct structured training activities and provide pilot research grants to support the development of new work and grant proposals focused on understanding and acting on the impacts of climate change on health and equity in cities. The center has a special focus on supporting early-stage investigators and investigators from diverse backgrounds, including researchers from low-income countries and from groups underrepresented in health research.

The CCUH also includes a core focused on increasing capacity for policy translation and maximizing the policy impact of research on climate change and health. This core is led by Lazo Mazariegos of INCAP and Katy Indvik, MSc, senior climate and policy engagement specialist, who will engage policy and community members across the Americas to inform Center activities, approaches, and outputs.

“We are delighted to launch this new initiative at the UHC and are especially excited by the opportunity to learn from cross-city comparisons and partnerships with cities across the Americas,” said Diez Roux.

Learn more at drexel.edu/uhc/ccuh