Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH)
Mapping Environmental Health
July 10, 2015Expert: Michael Jerrett, Ph.D.
In this podcast, we take a look at how geographic information systems (GIS) and other spatial methodologies can illuminate environmental exposures and help researchers and communities communicate risks. Hear about recent developments in mapping technology, challenges with data management and training, and the potential for these technologies to improve our understanding of environmental health around the globe.
Expert
Michael Jerrett, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert in Geographic Information Science for Exposure Assessment and Spatial Epidemiology. He is department chair and professor of environmental health sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. For the past 15 years, Jerrett has researched how to characterize population exposures to air pollution and built environmental variables, how to understand the social distribution of these exposures among different groups, and how to assess the health effects from environmental exposures. Jerrett has served on committees for the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2014, he was named to the Thomson Reuters List of Highly Cited Researchers, indicating he is in the top 1% of all authors in the fields of Environment/Ecology in terms of citation by other researchers.
For More Information
Community Forums
Find maps and data on air quality, brownfields, health, and related topics at this public-access repository.
Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool
Use this innovative tool developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to explore how environmental health issues affect different communities. The tool integrates environmental and demographic indicators in an interactive mapping interface.
ESRI Resources on GIS for Public Health
Find information about how GIS technologies can benefit public health research at the website of this geographic technology company. Or, check out their white paper on Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Health.
GIS Apps at U.S. EPA
Explore applications available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help researchers and developers use geographic environmental data.
GIS at CDC
Find GIS tools, maps, training resources, and more at this website on geographic information systems for public health maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
GIS at NCI
Learn how GIS data is used to advance cancer research and find mapping tools and services from the National Cancer Institute.
GIS HEAL
Read more about the work Michael Jerrett and his colleagues have been involved with at this website of the University of California, Berkeley’s GIS Health and Exposure Analysis Laboratory.
NIEHS Archived Webinars on GIS
Explore archived presentations on the use of GIS for exposure assessment, hazardous site tracking, and community engagement from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program’s 2014 webinar series titled “Using GIS Tools to Analyze, Compute, and Predict Pollution.”
GIS and Mapping for Public Health
Find links to dozens of GIS data repositories at this resource list maintained by the Sheldon Margen Public Health Library at the University of California, Berkeley.
Related Environmental Health Chat Episodes
We want your feedback!
Send comments, questions, and suggestions for future podcast topics to podcast@niehs.nih.gov
to Top