WashU Public Health launches research network to solve urgent health, environmental challenges
Solutions through Planetary Health Research (SPHERE), led by McKelvey Engineering’s Dan Giammar, drives research, solutions to protect the intertwined health of people and the planet
The past several decades have seen enormous improvements in public health, with global life expectancy at birth skyrocketing from 46 years in 1950 to 73 years in 2023. At the same time, human activity has degraded the planetary systems that sustain all life on Earth, threatening our ability to feed ourselves, heightening the risk of natural disasters, and facilitating the spread of heat-related and infectious diseases. In response to these converging challenges, a new approach is taking shape, one that recognizes that human and planetary health are inseparable — and that solutions to environmental challenges will benefit human health, and vice versa.
The School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis has launched a new research network — Solutions through Planetary Health Research (SPHERE) — to integrate public health and environmental research with the goal to improve the interconnected health of people and the planet. The network aims to build cross-disciplinary partnerships to work toward creating actionable solutions to the complex public health challenges resulting from changes to our environment.
“This network reflects our commitment to understand health in the context of a rapidly changing planet,” said Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health, the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health and vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at WashU. “Climate change is reshaping the ecology of both infectious and noncommunicable disease, with implications for preparedness, equity, and resilience. Our goal is to bring together researchers from across disciplines to outline next steps for the science needed to protect population health now and in the future.”
SPHERE is one of six research networks at the School of Public Health (SPH). Centerpieces of the school’s research enterprise, the networks aim for nothing less than transformative progress against the most critical public health challenges. SPHERE is led by Daniel Giammar, PhD, the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering at McKelvey School of Engineering and a member of the SPH secondary faculty. Jen Mandeville, MS, serves as SPHERE’s senior network manager, overseeing daily operations, and supporting research and partnership activities across the network. A co-director from SPH will soon be named to complete the leadership team.
“In the face of major environmental challenges, we need to take a holistic view of how we provide sustainable, healthy life for humans and nonhumans by integrating the life sciences with the natural systems that support life here on Earth,” Giammar said. “I see SPHERE as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance planetary health. There’s a lot of momentum and excitement in this field right now, and I’m incredibly excited to be part of this.”
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