News

*This enduring material is eligible for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits! 

 Description 

The Climate and Health Actionable Research and Translation (CHART) Webinar Series was developed by the Research Capacity Building Core (RCBC) to bridge gaps between clinical, research, and community-based professions. This series utilizes interprofessional subject matter experts to present webinars covering data-driven climate change and health, heat-related topics of interest. These webinars support the translation of current research into clinical practice, while also leveraging clinical and community experience to pose new research questions.  

 Training Series Objectives 

Provide free, relevant, and practical programming on climate change, health, and health equity to:​ 

• Meet the needs of clinicians aiming to adapt current best practices.​ 

• Bring translational climate and health research into the clinical setting.​  

• Engage those aiming to become more involved in climate and health research.​ 

Webinar On-Demand Materials 

 August 2024 webinar: Navigating Summer’s Heat: CDC Tools and Resources on Heat and Health  

 Laura Seeff, MD​ | Director of the Office of Health Systems Collaboration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office of the Associate Director for Policy 

Ambarish Vaidyanathan, PhD​ | Health Scientist in the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)​ 

 Description: As summer temperatures continue to rise, health professionals must be prepared to prevent and treat illness due to extreme heat. This webinar will highlight how health and non-health factors contribute to variability in individual risk of heat-related illnesses. It will dive into the new CDC Heat & Health Tracker, as well as key screening materials, heat action plans, and heat and medication guidance for patients and community members.  

September 2024 webinar: Heat Risk in Pregnancy: Translational Research and Practice from a Social Determinants Perspective  

 Howard Chang, PhD| Professor, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health  

Suchitra Chandrasekaran, MD | Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology | Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine  

 Description: Pregnancy can increase the risk of a woman and her fetus being negatively impacted by environmental exposures. This webinar will discuss current research on how high ambient temperatures may influence pregnancy outcomes, highlighting emerging epidemiologic evidence and current knowledge gaps. The webinar will also utilize data and professional clinical experience to show how obstetricians and other clinicians working with pregnant patients can address climate-related stressors while interconnecting other social determinants of health. 

 October 2024 webinar: Heat Exposure and Health: Addressing Challenges for Children and Farmworkers 

 Abby Mutic, PhD, MSN, CNM | Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University  

Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN, FAAN | Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University  

 Description: Vulnerable populations such as children and farmworkers may not always have a choice when exposed to heat. In this webinar, speakers will analyze regional challenges, identify barriers and facilitators to health outcomes, and emphasize the role of community engagement in improving children’s health in relation to heat. 

 January 2025 webinar: Heat, Health, and Environmental Justice: Addressing Barriers for Underserved Communities 

 Saria Hassan, MD, MPH | Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health 

Yomi Noibi, PhD | Former Executive Director, Environmental Community Action 

 Description: The built environment can play a large role in a person’s exposure to heat, as well as other manmade and climate change-related health hazards. This webinar will dive into the concept of environmental justice and how the legacy of racism and other structural and systemic barriers continue to persist in historically underrepresented and under resourced communities. Experts working and living in these communities are invited for a fireside chat to touch on persistent barriers and how heat continues to impact the health of community members. 

 February 2025 webinar: Youth Mental Health and the Climate Crisis 

 Elizabeth Pinsky, MD | Assistant Professor Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Associate Director for Advocacy, Mass General 

 Description: Climate change has profound and escalating consequences for all aspects of human health, including our mental health and emotional well-being. In this webinar we will learn about how climate change is harming mental health, the reasons why children and youth are disproportionately vulnerable, and the emerging data on strategies for prevention and resilience. We will also consider how adults – including caregivers, educators, health professionals and researchers – might take action. 

May 2025 webinar: Heat, Health, and Medications: Pharmacologic Considerations of Medications and Heat

Kenneth Mueller, PharmD, BCPS | Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Heather Allstrom, DNP, WHNP-BC | Senior Clinical Instructor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University

Lori A. Modly, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC | Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing, Primary Care pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and Clinician Scientist 

Daniel Jackson Smith, PhD, AGPCNP-BC, CNE, FAAN | Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing at the University at Buffalo

Description: As summertime approaches, it is important to recognize how the human body naturally regulates heat, as well as the impact that medication use has on disrupting that regulation. This webinar will address drugs and mechanisms that increase risk of heat-related illnesses and dive into signs and symptoms of those illnesses with a focus on at-risk populations. The webinar will be presented from a pharmacological viewpoint and highlight ways that clinicians, researchers, and entities serving at-risk communities, can increase patient and community education with the goal of reducing risk of heat-related illness.  

July 2025 Webinar: Environmental Health in Pediatric Practice: Tools, Challenges, and Opportunities 

Amanda Kuhn, MD | Emory Pediatrics Chief Resident 

Sajani Patel, MD, MPH | Emory Pediatrics Chief Resident 

Olivia K Beale, MD| Pediatrician 

Description: Children are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change, particularly in under-resourced urban communities where exposure to extreme heat and environmental pollutants is more severe. In this webinar, we will explore the development of a pediatric environmental health toolkit designed to help clinicians educate children and their families about climate-related health risks. We will discuss how evidence-based resources were identified, the challenges of integrating these tools into clinical workflows, and the opportunities to build resilience through family education. Emphasis will be placed on the role of healthcare providers in supporting prevention and promoting long-term pediatric health in a changing climate. 

*Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) Credits

This enduring material is eligible for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credits accredited by the Emory Nursing Professional Development Center (ENPDC). To receive 1.0 contact hour, please complete this evaluation after watching the webinar.

Please expect a wait time of at least 5-7 business days after completion of the survey for a follow-up email with proof of contact hours. For questions, please email sophia.lamb@emory.edu

This webinar series is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20ES036110. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.