Research and Engagement for Action on Climate and Health (REACH) Center

PROJECT SUMMARY - OVERALL The mission of the Research and Engagement for Action on Climate and Health (REACH) Center is to bridge big data to climate solutions that advance health and environmental justice. Specifically, the Center leverages the power of novel geospatial datasets and research co-generation with governmental and non-

governmental partners to research health and equity impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation actions from local to global scales. The Center forms a new multi-institutional partnership that leverages world- class strengths in public health, medicine, and public policy at George Washington University; Earth and

atmospheric sciences at George Mason University and Howard University; environmental justice at Howard University; and research translation at Environmental Defense Fund. The Center’s ground-breaking partnership cultivates a diverse, multi-disciplinary, collaborative research enterprise that generates new

knowledge and accelerates research translation into health-protective and equitable climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our ideal location in the National Capital Region, hosted at the only school of public health in Washington, DC, gives us unique opportunities to collaborate with the local and federal government and a

plethora of civil society organizations engaged in climate and health policy development. The REACH Center will generate new knowledge along the spectrum of discovery to applied research, particularly leveraging the strengths of geospatial datasets to address research questions that can guide mitigation and adaptation

actions at a range of administrative scales. The Center will catalyze collaborations between investigators and governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to understand the complex interactions between climate and health and design approaches for protecting public health under future climate change. The Center will

achieve its mission through Administrative, Developmental, Community Engagement, and Exposure Assessment Cores. The Developmental Core Center will develop new research infrastructure that fosters research exploring climate solutions that advance health and equity through pilot awards, student fellowships,

educational and networking opportunities, and interaction between investigators and governmental and non- governmental partners. The Community Engagement Core will provide a bridge between academic research and a community of potential users of the findings to drive health-protective and equitable climate solutions

forward. The Exposure Assessment Core will lead the Center’s efforts to make geospatial climate and environmental data more accessible, interoperable, and interpretable for climate and health research conducted by researchers from various disciplines.