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Center for Health & Environment: Education & Research Expands Pilot Project Programs

Aug. 15, 2023

This past January, CHEER issued its second annual call for pilot project proposals for interdisciplinary projects that link environment to health. The call concluded in March with several strong proposals submitted and two teams awarded funding.

Rebecca Cook and Trisha Parekh, both of Dell Med, will lead the study “The Health Impacts of Eco-stove Installation in a Rural Community in Puebla, México.” Alex Karner of the School of Architecture and Kevin Lanza of the UTHealth School of Public Health will lead the study “Tenant and Transit Rider Organizing to Combat Structural Racism and Enhance Environmental Health.” The one-year pilot period began in June, and preliminary findings will be shared at a CHEER seminar event in the spring of 2024.   

CHEER also expanded pilot project proposal opportunities in partnership with the Jackson School of Geosciences, furthering research on climate change and health. In May, CHEER and the Jackson School of Geosciences held an open house to connect the research community at UT interested in climate change and health research to potential research ideas.

Discussion leaders included George Macones (representing maternal-fetal health), Trisha Parekh (representing respiratory health), Kerry Cook (representing infectious diseases) and Matt Wilkinson (representing emergency medicine and pediatrics). Attendees from Dell Med, the Jackson School of Geosciences, the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work engaged in brainstorming conversations sparking new research ideas.

A call for pilot grant proposals was issued in July, with submissions due September 1. Interested parties can email jeanne.holmes@austin.utexas.edu for more information.