December 6, 2022

Natasha K. DeJarnett, Ph.D.

At the 2022 American Public Health Association (APHA) conference, Natasha K. DeJarnett, Ph.D., sat down with APHA TV to discuss how climate change affects health. In the short video, she talks about the physical and mental health effects of climate change, the disproportionate health and climate burdens felt by some communities of color and people with lower incomes, and the importance of engaging communities in climate and health research.

DeJarnett is a member of the NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Sciences Core Center at the University of Louisville, and part of that center’s Multi-organ Toxicology Research Interest Group. She is also chair-elect of the APHA Environment Section.

Her research interests include understanding how extreme heat and air pollution affect cardiovascular health and reducing environmental health disparities. DeJarnett is passionate about using environmental health research to inform policy, empowering communities through engagement in research, and advancing environmental justice.

DeJarnett’s environmental justice expertise recently earned her a fellowship in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which advises the President and develops policies on climate change and environmental justice, among other areas. During her one-year fellowship, will serve as Deputy Director for Environmental Justice Data and Evaluation. In this role, she will provide leadership in the updating, interpretation, and implementation of environmental justice data and evaluation tools, including the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and Environmental Justice Scorecard.