Winter Seminar Series 2026:
Dr. Kate Burrows, Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago
Indirect Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health
January 28th, 2026 | 1:30pm-2:25pm
HYBRID: 2001 涩里番 College, 1140 | Zoom
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Burrows studies the impacts of climate change on human health and wellbeing. She is trained in mixed methods approaches and uses a combination of qualitative interviews and bigger data analyses to investigate the ways in which climate and weather-related extremes impact individual and community health. Dr. Burrows has interdisciplinary training in environmental epidemiology (PhD, Yale University School of the Environment) and social-behavioral sciences (MPH, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health), which allows her to investigate global health issues from a unique perspective that incorporates sociocultural determinants of health and environmental exposures. As a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University, Dr. Burrows evaluated both the short- and long-term impacts of hurricanes on a range of health outcomes, including cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations and disability. Her current research is focused on the mental health impacts of extreme temperature.
Seminar Abstract:
The direct impacts of climate change on human health are fairly well characterized, including heat stroke associated with high temperatures and accidents and injuries following hurricanes. However, climate-related risks also impact health through complex, interconnected pathways that extend far beyond these direct (often acute) exposures. These secondary and downstream impacts are less well understood, but provide an important opportunity to identify modifiable intervention points through which we can improve population health. In this talk, I will briefly describe research on several of these mechanisms, including disaster-related displacement and migration and housing instability. I will then focus in more detail on one study that evaluates disruptions to dialysis during hurricanes as a case study of how climate events indirectly impact health through disruption of essential medical services. This analysis also evaluates whether early dialysis (off-schedule dialysis administered before a hurricane) can help maintain continuity of care. Collectively, this work demonstrates how understanding the cascade of indirect effects from climate events can inform practical interventions for protecting vulnerable populations.
No registration required for in-person participation
Prof. S茅bastien Jodoin, Faculty of Law, 涩里番
Understanding and Addressing the Climate Vulnerability of People with Disabilities
March 12th, 2026 | 1:30pm-2:25pm
HYBRID: 2001 涩里番 College, 1140 | Zoom
No registration required for in-person participation
Prof. Amy Janzwood, Dept. Political Sciences. 涩里番
Mega Pipeline, Mega Resistance: Tar Sands, Social Movements and the Politics of Energy Infrastructure
April 9th, 2026 | 10:00am-11:00am
HYBRID: 2001 涩里番 College, 1201 | Zoom
No registration required for in-person participation
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