BU-Harvard Center Fosters Climate and Health Data at Crucial Moment.
BU-Harvard Center Fosters Climate and Health Data at Crucial Moment
Since launching in May 2023, the NIH-funded Research Coordinating Center has brought together thousands of scientists across the globe to advance research, education, and policy to minimize the health impacts of climate change.
The historic flooding, flattened infrastructure, and climbing death toll following Hurricane Helene’s rapid progression across the southeastern US last week are the latest sobering signs of the consequences of a warming climate, as higher temperatures drive more frequent, intense, and unpredictable storms. Each devastating weather event reaffirms what climate scientists have been warning for years: climate mitigation and adaptation are not only urgent, but absolutely necessary, to prepare communities for even more extreme weather events in the future.
This urgency spurred the May 2023 launch of the BUSPH-HSPH CAFE Research Coordinating Center (CAFE RCC), a joint venture between Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, led by Gregory Wellenius, professor of environmental health at BUSPH, Amruta Nori-Sarma, assistant professor of environmental health at BUSPH (and who will soon begin a new role as assistant professor of environmental health and population sciences at HSPH), and Francesca Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science at HSPH The team’s name stems from its four broad pillars to Convene, Accelerate, Foster, and Expand a global network of emerging and established researchers who are studying issues relevant to the human and environmental toll of climate change.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the $6.7 million initiative is expanding and diversifying the field of climate scientists, fostering research collaborations, sharing climate data, holding conferences, and providing training opportunities. On Tuesday, September 10, eight program officers from NIH convened with the CAFE team at the BU Center for Computing & Data Sciences to celebrate the group’s work thus far, and chart an ambitious agenda in its second year and beyond.
“It is very gratifying to see the positive impact that CAFE is having globally in the climate and health space,” says Wellenius. “Quite simply, CAFE is enabling the sharing of data, expertise, resources, and ideas among experts from different continents, disciplines, sectors, and perspectives. I’m extremely proud of the dozens of faculty, staff, and students from BU and Harvard for their efforts with CAFE and grateful to NIH for their funding, guidance, and support.”
CAFE is a critical player in the global effort to accelerate the pace of research and action on climate change and health, both globally and in the US. NIH is meeting this need through its Climate Change and Health Initiative, of which CAFE is a central component, and the agency’s investment in the center reflects its commitment to research that will inform evidence-based solutions to the health impacts of climate change.
“CAFE is creating a robust community of practice for climate and health, which we view as a crucial step towards accelerating this transdisciplinary science,” says Ashlinn Quinn, program officer at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “The September visit was a rare opportunity for NIH staff to connect in-person with the CAFE team to streamline our collaborative efforts as we work to address the health threats imposed by climate change.”
CAFE’s international community of practice currently includes more than 2,000 researchers and practitioners across multiple disciplines and sectors, including academia, government, non-government organizations, community and healthcare organizations, industry groups, and others. The group’s inaugural, signature event, a virtual Climate and Health conference held in February 2024, featured keynote speakers, training workshops, mentorship, and networking opportunities. The annual event will return March 3-6, 2025, and registration will open later this fall.
The conference engages the CAFE community in discussions on the cutting edge of research, policy, technology, and decision making around climate and health, Nori-Sarma says. The planning committee of more than 30 members is overseen by CAFE leadership, but primarily composed of community members.
“The CAFE virtual conference offers an amazing opportunity for members of our community of practice to connect with the CAFE team, the NIH, and each other,” says Nori-Sarma. “We’re so thrilled to repeat the success of our first meeting, where over 900 members of our COP joined us for three days of sessions. We expect the conference in March to take it up a notch.”
To facilitate global research initiatives on the health impacts of climate change, the team developed the CAFE collection on the Harvard Dataverse platform, an open data repository in which researchers can share and reuse a wide range of datasets essential to climate and health research. They can also access tutorials and other resources to facilitate data processing and analysis, as well as guidelines for data management and dissemination.
“Data sharing is essential for scientific progress, transforming individual research into collective breakthroughs,” says Dominici. “For investigators, it fosters collaboration and amplifies the impact of their research. Investigators who upload and share their data on the CAFE collection on the Harvard Dataverse platform, increase visibility of their research, receive credit for their data through citations, and satisfy data sharing requirements from funders and journals.”
Another pillar of CAFE work is its Research Translation Lab, in which researchers learn strategies and best practices for forging relationships with policymakers and other key decision-makers, so that they can communicate their data effectively and inform meaningful policies and action within their communities.
Concerted capacity-building efforts have helped expand the CAFE community, by offering a variety of educational opportunities to researchers, including webinars and online resources on study design and data visualization, as well as trainings on topics such as grant writing and heatwave planning. A mentorship program is also available to postdoctoral researchers and early career faculty who are planning to apply for grants for their climate and health research projects. The CAFE Pilot Grant Program also provides small seed funding for emerging researchers, for data collection, community engagement, and other activities that can boost their applications for future independent funding. The 2024-2025 recipients of the pilot awards were recently selected.
With additional funding form the National Science Foundation, the team also recently launched the GeoCAFE, a new Research Coordination Network comprised of university faculty from non-medical geoscience departments, as well as medical and public health professionals, aiming to foster greater collaboration between experts who study the environmental triggers of climate-related health issues and those who study and treat these health conditions.
“Tackling complex problems requires complex solutions,” Dominici says. “Our goal is to empower an international and multidisciplinary community of researchers who can, together, quickly and effectively mitigate and adapt to the adverse impact of climate change on human health.”