A complex interconnectedness exists between everything on Earth. Ripple effects reverberate back and forth between people and the places they call home.
But there’s still so much that remains unknown about how countless forces — like deadly record-breaking heat, sea level rise, hurricanes, diseases and epidemics, economic insecurity and more — come together to have a hand in what happens to us. Not only how long we live, but how well we live. FIU’s recently launched Population Health Initiative wants to start answering some of these complicated questions.
Rooted in team science, researchers from across different disciplines will collaborate on projects to address health at the societal level in South Florida. Location is certainly one of the advantages of FIU’s initiative, since what happens here could foreshadow what unfolds in other parts of the world. In fact, the goal is to develop upstream solutions, like community- and system-level interventions, that can then be implemented by local, regional, global and private stakeholders to improve outcomes for all.
Partnerships with other institutions, like the University of Washington (UW), helped build this new model at FIU and will continue to be an active part of the process. FIU continues to work with the UW Population Health Initiative to explore opportunities for partnership in population health-related research and training.
“With this new initiative, FIU is stepping up as a critical leader in this space, not only through scholarly expertise but through [their] capacity as a top public research university to convene and analyze collective effort,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce at the launch of the Population Health Initiative at FIU in Washington, D.C. “The power of our partnership is truly amazing, and I’m so excited about what we’re going to do together.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by the Population Health Initiative team at FIU. In a world in flux, facing rapid changes and countless challenges, there’s too much at stake. They are ready to get to work and help people across South Florida and beyond lead better, healthier lives.
“We are enthusiastic about supporting and fostering high quality cross-disciplinary research among faculty that addresses the most persistent and emerging population health challenges in areas such as climate variability and environmental/community resilience, infectious and chronic diseases, health economics and more.” — Mariana Sanchez, Director of the FIU Population Health Initiative
Research Projects at a Glance
Disparity in disaster vulnerability, dynamic inequality, population health and climate resilience
Investigators: Pallab Mozumder (principal investigator), professor, Institute of Environment; Indranil Sengupta, professor, Institute of Environment; Shahnawaz Rafi, research assistant professor, Institute of Environment; and Nafisa Halim, research assistant professor, Boston University.
Hurricanes have a disproportionate impact on socially and economically vulnerable communities. Analyzing household survey data from recent major hurricanes, this project will use machine learning along with other models to develop a disparity in disaster vulnerability index to help inform policy decisions and strategies to reduce impacts on underprivileged groups after major climate events.
AI-enabled simulation modeling for addressing population health consequences of sea level rise in Miami
Investigators: Byomkesh Talukder (principal investigator), assistant professor, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work; Ananda Mondal, assistant professor, Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences; Rajiv Chowdhury, chair and professor, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work; Levente Juhász, research assistant professor and assistant director, Geographic Information Systems Center; Jayantha Obeysekera, director of the Sea Level Solutions Center, Institute of Environment; and Shimon Wdowinski, professor, Institute of Environment.
Growing evidence suggests sea level rise is linked to health risks like water and vector-borne diseases, respiratory issues and more. This study aims to create an AI-based simulation that integrates demographic, socioeconomic and environmental data to identify the health impacts of sea level rise in Miami and offer policymakers and community leaders data to develop adaptation strategies. This project offers a scalable model for improving health outcomes in other coastal regions.
FIU in DC A platform for research leadership
FIU’s center in Washington, D.C., located on Capitol Hill, promotes the university’s research through the convening of panels with national speakers, teaching sessions that gather decisionmakers, researchers and students in one place, and personalized, one-on- one exchanges. To read more about FIU in DC, click here.
National research conferences
The center provides a platform for faculty to convene national thought leaders from across all sectors to share the latest findings, discuss potential solutions to urgent problems and find opportunities for collaboration. In the last year alone, more than 65 programs took place covering issues such as infrastructure, population health, climate technology and more.
The Talent Lab
Focused on providing real-world experience to aspiring leaders, the center offers a full complement of opportunities, among them multi-day fly-in seminars around specific themes and policy-related issues that involve over 600 students a year. Selected students working in campus laboratories receive training as “research advocates” who meet with lawmakers and their representatives, both in D.C. and in South Florida, to introduce some of the university’s most promising projects. Journalism students run their D.C. news bureau out of the center, and a comprehensive internship/career network serves both students and young alumni.
Research showcase
Product prototypes on exhibit and patent literature represent work that offers the potential for commercialization. An interactive digital display provides a “big picture” view of work in arenas such as the environment. Proprietary environmental monitoring systems and other devices used by researchers working in South Florida and around the globe are available for viewing.
