New Seminar Series Addresses Climate Change and Healthcare

New Seminar Series Addresses Climate Change and Healthcare

Rising global temperatures are bringing with them a myriad challenges for human health. Among them are famines and food insecurity; greater spread of infectious diseases such as Zika and cholera; reduced air and water quality; and many more.

To explore these challenges and the ways in which the research and healthcare communities can help to meet them, the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at the Massachusetts General Hospital is hosting a three-part seminar series on “Climate Change and Healthcare,” with topics ranging from the basics of atmospheric science to the relationships between ecosystem change, wildlife decline, and malnutrition. The series launches next week with a lunchtime talk in the Charlestown Navy Yard.

“As scientists, healthcare professionals, and residents of a city that may become partially underwater, we are wholly invested in understanding the many different issues that are arising as a result of climate change. It is an obligation we have to our patients,” said Avilash Cramer, a medical engineering PhD student at MIT, a Martinos Center researcher, and one of the organizers of the series. “We couldn’t be more excited to have these talks here.”

“Climate Change and Healthcare” is open to the public. The talks, all of which will be held in MGH Building 149 (149 13th St., Charlestown, MA, 02129), include:

Ecosystem Change, Wildlife Declines, and Their Downstream Effects on Global Food Security and Malnutrition
Christopher Golden, PhD, MPH, Chan School of Public Health, Harvard
3:00pm, Thursday, April 6, Room 2204

Planetary Health: The Impacts of Global Environmental Change on Patient and Planet
Latha Swamy, MEM, MSc, Yale University
1:30pm, Thursday, April 13, Room 2204

On the Science of Climate Amidst Chaos, Variability, and Change
Adam Schlosser, PhD, MIT EAPS
10:00am, Tuesday, April 19, Room 149-A