Kristie L. Ebi
is Executive Director of the Technical Support Unit forWorking Group II (Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability) of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Prior to this position,she was an independent consultant. She has been conducting research onthe impacts of and adaptation to climate change for more than a dozenyears, including on extreme events, thermal stress, foodborne safety andsecurity, and vectorborne diseases. She has worked with the World HealthOrganization, the United Nations Development Programme, USAID, andothers on implementing adaptation measures in low-income countries.She facilitated adaptation assessments for the health sector for the statesof Maryland and Alaska.
She was a lead author on the “Human Health” chapter of the IPCC FourthAssessment Report, and the “Human Health” chapter for the
U.S. Synthesis and Assessment Product
“Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems.”
She hasedited fours books on aspects of climate change and has more than 80 publications.
Dr. Ebi’s scientific
training includes an M.S. in toxicology and a Ph.D. and a Masters of Public Health in epidemiology, andtwo years of postgraduate research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Global Climate Change: Far Reaching Effects on Human Health
Climate change is projected to have far-reaching effects on human health and well-being. Heatwavesand other extreme weather events (e.g. floods, droughts, and windstorms) directly affect millions of people and cause billions of dollars of damage annually. There is a growing consensus that thefrequency and intensity of extreme weather events will likely increase over coming decades as aconsequence of climate change, suggesting that the associated health impacts also could increase.Indirectly, climate can affect health through affecting the number of people at risk of malnutrition, aswell as through alterations in the geographic range and intensity of transmission of vectorborne,zoonotic, and food- and waterborne diseases, and changes in the prevalence of diseases associated withair pollutants and aeroallergens. Additional climate change is projected to significantly increase thenumber of people at risk of major causes of ill health, particularly malnutrition, diarrheal diseases,malaria, and other vectorborne diseases.
Dr. Nathan D. Wong
is Professor and Director of the Heart Disease PreventionProgram, Division of Cardiology at University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and also Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and UC Irvine and UCLA. Heholds PhD and MPH degrees in epidemiology from Yale University. Dr. Wong hasover 20 years experience as a cardiovascular epidemiologist, has edited or co-edited four textbooks related to
Preventive Cardiology
, and has authored or co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts in areas of preventive cardiologyincluding lipids, detection of atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, andhypertension, and serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He has been an investigator orcollaborator with large-scale cardiovascular disease studies, including the Framingham Heart Study andMultiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Dr. Wong is also a fellow of the American College of Cardiology andthe American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and is currently President of theAmerican Society for Preventive Cardiology. He has also lectured nationally and internationally on hisresearch and on various topics in preventive cardiology. He is also on the board of directors for the non-profit China California Heartwatch, which is involved in screening and management of hypertension andcardiovascular disease in rural underserved regions of China.
Leave a Comment