Building Resilient Communities for a Healthier Future For All
We tackle critical challenges at the intersection of extreme weather hazards and health to create sustainable and just communities. Our research informs policymakers on the health impacts of extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and other climate hazards, while identifying adaptation strategies that protect the most vulnerable. By integrating science with community engagement, we ensure that community health remain at the center of climate solutions.
CLIMA brings together expertise in climate, energy, air quality, and exposure science in a Methods Development Research Core (MDRC)
About the Methods Development Research Core (MDRC)
The MDRC is dedicated to advancing climate and health research by addressing critical modeling and data gaps. Our work supports climate action policies that promote fair access to health, ensuring that adaptation strategies are effective and inclusive.
Why It Matters
Climate hazards are increasing—not just individually, but also as compound events, occurring concurrently or consecutively. These complex interactions challenge our ability to adapt, putting vulnerable communities at higher risk.
Our Approach
We develop high-resolution, transdisciplinary models to:
✅ Capture climate-induced exposures with precision in space and time
✅ Assess risks at multiple scales
✅ Identify gaps in adaptation strategies
✅ Provide real-time, actionable insights for policymakers
Impact & Policy Integration
By improving how we model climate-health interactions, MDRC helps policymakers make evidence-based decisions that:
🌍 Enhance climate resilience
⚡ Strengthen early adaptation efforts
🏥 Support health access in vulnerable populations
Research Project 1
The role of vulnerability and adaptation on the effects of co-occurring heat, air pollution, and wildfire on heart failure hospitalizations
To protect human health in the changing climate, research is urgently needed to understand adaptation and mitigation efforts impact on public health.
Key Research Aims
✅ Assess Climate & Health Impacts
Using electronic medical records (EMR) enriched with neighborhood-level data and state hospitalization records, we analyze how combined exposure to heat and (WF-)PM2.5 influences HF hospitalizations.
✅ Identify Vulnerability Factors
We examine how individual and neighborhood factors modify the health effects of climate hazards.
✅ Evaluate Adaptation Strategies
We assess the effectiveness of community-based (cooling centers, green spaces, community pools) and individual (air conditioning) adaptation measures to determine their role in reducing heat and PM2.5-related health risks.
Driving Policy & Community Action
These results will inform future action-oriented policies, programs, and targeted interventions to mitigate extreme weather health effects, especially among the most vulnerable. Research Project 1 will contribute to the USC CLIMA Center’s capacity building efforts to engage a scientifically research team with varied expertise in conducting and developing approaches for impactful transdisciplinary climate health research.
Research Project 2
The Role of Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate: Cardiovascular Risk and Allostatic Load Among Youth
Extreme weather hazards are rapidly intensifying, and while mitigating these is a critical goal, there is an urgent need to reduce vulnerability to its cardiovascular health (CVH) impacts. Of the rapidly emerging CC threats, heat stress and wildfire (WF) smoke are strongly linked to adverse CVH outcomes, yet little is known about how weather hazards may influence CVH profiles across the age spectrum, particularly in youth when adaptation strategies to increase resilience may be most impactful on long term health.
Among the most pressing climate threats, heat stress and wildfire (WF) smoke have been strongly linked to adverse CVH outcomes, yet little is known about their long-term effects—particularly in young populations. Early indicators of CVH risk, such as allostatic load (AL), may help us understand how individuals and communities respond to repeated climate stressors and whether adaptation strategies can improve long-term resilience.
Key Research Aims
✅ Assess Climate Impacts on Cardiovascular Health
We examine how long-term exposure to heat stress and WF smoke affects blood pressure and pulse rate over time.
✅ Investigate Allostatic Load (AL) as a Resilience Marker
We explore whether AL—a measure of the body’s wear and tear from chronic stress—can predict biological resilience to climate stressors and long-term CVH outcomes.
✅ Evaluate Neighborhood Adaptation & Risk Modifiers
We analyze how urban heat islands, tree canopies, and climate/social vulnerability indices impact cardiovascular risk and resilience.
✅ Link AL to Early Signs of Vascular Injury
We assess the connection between AL and carotid ultrasound markers of vascular injury, helping determine AL’s potential as a precision screening tool for CVH risk.
By understanding how climate stressors shape CVH and identifying early biomarkers of biological resilience, this research provides actionable insights for:
🌱 Targeted, scalable risk screenings for individuals most vulnerable to climate stress
🏙️ Community-level adaptation strategies to improve resilience and reduce CVH impacts
📢 Informing policies and interventions that address extreme weather patterns and harzards