We help our community stay informed by creating a database of relevant articles and discussing current literature on the intersections between climate and health. We also support members in initiating research projects, facilitating collaborations within our group, and connecting students to research mentors.
MS4SF Educational Initiative on Climate and Health Research
MS4SF is asking for your help to engage more medical students with climate and health research. If you have research-related skills that you are able to share, we hope that you can join our efforts.
Two opportunities are available: record a short presentation to be posted online or participate in a live zoom meeting.
Please submit this form before 9/23.
Help write a climate change and health textbook chapter:
Dr. Kevin Conrad at Ochsner Health Systems in New Orleans has a book confirmed for publication and is looking for writers for the chapters. The book is titled “Healthcare Systems and Climate Change: New Perspectives on Adapting and Overcoming Organizational Challenges.” This will be the fifth book he publishes with Springer Publishing.
Medical students, masters students, and graduate students are welcome to be writers as long as they find a faculty mentor. Each chapter will essentially be a literature review of 10-20 pages with ample sources. Please direct comments and questions to Dr. Kevin Conrad (kconrad@ochsner.org) if interested. Click here for chapters.
Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE)
Are you interested in writing and publishing slides & cases on climate change and health?
Join the Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE) team! We develop expert reviewed climate-health slides and cases for medical schools to use to teach students about the impact of climate change on health. Learn more about our program and sign up as a writer or expert reviewer for our program here. Attendings, fellows, residents, medical students, and non-physicians scientists are welcome!
Project Opportunities
Student Recruitment:
Open, paid LCA research associate position in our “GreenHealth Sustainability” research lab working closely with oncologists, Osama Mohamad and Katie Lichter from the University of California San Francisco, and Dr. Cassandra Thiel from New York University.
Position: Oncology Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Research Associate
Contract duration: 3-12 months (3 mo minimum, with 12+ months possible upon funding availability)
Start date: As soon as possible
Location: San Francisco, CA (remote, in-person, or hybrid).
Overview: Climate change is one of the greatest threats to global and public health today — including oncologic outcomes. Despite being on the frontlines, health care contributes an estimated 8.5% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This has previously been quantified via LCAs; however, no LCAs have been performed within oncology. We aim to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions via a life cycle assessment for a variety of malignancy pathways.
Details: Looking for a graduate student and/or early professional with:
– Experience performing LCAs using SimaPro software.
– Prior healthcare research experience is preferred but not required.
– In depth statistical and excel skills.
– Strong work ethic is a must.
Please send CV/cover letter to katie.lichter@ucsf.edu.
Journal Club
- We regularly host a virtual Journal Club on Climate and Health in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm! Join us to participate!
- Upcoming Journal Clubs
- Stay tuned for our next journal club update
- If you’re interested in serving as a student representative for one of our upcoming journal clubs, please contact Donald, Raj, or Manolya Osman!
Research Mentors
Are you looking for research mentors to support your climate change and health related projects? Donald or Raj can help connect you with an MS4SF mentor that shares similar interests and/or is geographically close to you.
Resources
Please refer HERE for the MS4SF-curated list of interesting journals, articles, and books featuring topics related to climate change and health. We are looking for members who are interested in reviewing the articles.
Check out the NIH Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal here for more resources!
Research Co-Chairs
Sehrish Malik, MS2
City University of New York School of Medicine
Sehrish is a second year medical student at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine in New York. She is completing a 7-year BS/MD program at the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program and received her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science. She is Vice-President of her school’s climate-health chapter, Green for Gaea, and works with the Climate Resource for Health Education (CRHE) to develop climate-health curricula content on a national scale. With the aging population and climate crisis growing alongside each other, Sehrish is passionate about understanding how the climate crisis exacerbates health inequities and worsens health outcomes, especially in vulnerable populations. She also has interests in global health and ethics, and has launched humanitarian fundraising campaigns for global health crises. In her free-time, Sehrish is an avid nature enthusiast, photographer, hiker, and enjoys cross-country road trips to national parks in her RV. She is actively involved in clinical research and received NIA-funded training in aging research. She believes research is a pivotal tool to create productive solutions towards understanding and responding to the growing climate-health crisis.
Donald De Alwis, MS2
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Donald is a second year medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) in Baltimore, MD. His undergraduate training was in Environmental Science and Public Health, and he has a research background in toxicology/environmental health. Donald is passionate about quantifying the health and economic costs of climate change, and prior to his arrival at UMSOM he spent time as a consulting research analyst for the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. He is a founding member of the University of Maryland MS4SF chapter and is excited to help students find research opportunities at the climate-health nexus.
Twitter: @donald_dealwis
Rebecca Kuan, DO student
Western University of Health Sciences
Rebecca is an osteopathic medical student at Western University of Health Sciences, located in Southern California. She received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. She then worked as a research technician prior to starting medical school. She is passionate about the production of quality data to use to support policies to decrease exposures that negatively impact health. Aiming to apply her research interest and background to engage fellow students in climate health, she joined MS4SF as the Research Database Sub-Chair last year. She plans to continue this work this year as one of the Research Co-Chairs.
Medical Students for a Sustainable Future 