Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Jaime Madrigano, ScD, MPH as an Bloomberg Associate Professor for American Health in the area of Environmental Challenges in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. The Department comprises two schools within Johns Hopkins University – the Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as the Whiting School of Engineering. The position is endowed and that is funded through Bloomberg Health Initiative. Bloomberg American Health Initiative with funding through Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Madrigano is an epidemiologist of the environment dedicated to research that focuses on comprehensive, fair solutions to safeguard the population from the increasing dangers from climate change. Her research examines the ways in which extreme weather and environmental pollution, both as well as in conjunction with socioeconomic and neighborhood influences–impact the health of a population. Her work focuses on environmental justice, with the aim of reducing the environmental health gaps.
“We are excited to have Dr. Madrigano join the Bloomberg American Health Initiative,” says Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie doctoral, ScM. “In this new position she will be taking her work in the area of environmental health disparities into bold new directions. Her vast expertise in policy and dedication to research that is informed by equity placed her in a position to tackle the increasing impact of climate change – one of the most pressing health problems for our society.”
Madrigano employs epidemiologic methods to inform policy. her research has been referenced in multi-agency health and climate preparedness efforts in New York City. She has collaborated in collaboration with local health departments and community-based groups across the Northeast to carry out health and environmental assessments. She is currently the leader of a research study that examines the vulnerability of heat for New Orleans and a national study that examines the role of green spaces in healthy older.
“We are thrilled that Dr. Jaime Madrigano has been named a Bloomberg Associate Professor to spearhead the Bloomberg American Health Initiative’s Environmental Challenges efforts,” says Marsha Wills-Karp PhD, director of the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. “With Jaime’s combined expertise in air pollution and environmental epidemiology, we fully anticipate that she will propel EHE’s efforts focused on identifying equitable policies to mitigate climate change-induced health impacts.”
prior to her time at Johns Hopkins, Madrigano worked at RAND Corporation, where she conducted research to determine if community resilience can mitigate the health consequences of natural catastrophes. Additionally, she directed research into the relationship between discriminatory practices in the system and the environmental burdens of inequity across the U.S. The result of this research was an online tool to study the environmental consequences of historic redlining in more than 202 communities across the nation.
In her new position, Madrigano chairs the Bloomberg American Health Initiative’s steering committee for Environmental Challenges.
“We’re delighted that Dr. Madrigano will be a leader of the Initiative’s work to tackle environmental challenges,” says Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD head of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. “She is able to combine a thorough knowledge of the health of the environment with an innate appreciation for environmental justice. That enables her to come up with and advocate for imaginative and feasible solutions to our most urgent environmental issues.”
Madrigano earned an Doctor of Science in Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2011. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with the Earth Institute and the Climate and Health Program at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University from 2011 to 2013. She also graduated with an undergraduate degree in Engineering with a major in Environmental Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1998 and a Masters of Public Health degree from Rutgers University in 2005. Madrigano is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Board of Scientific Counselors Executive Committee.
“I’m glad to welcome Dr. Jaime Madrigano as a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health at Johns Hopkins,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP. Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable illnesses and injuries, and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. “As we tackle climate change and confront health disparities in the United States, Dr. Madrigano’s teaching and research is more vital than ever before. I’m excited to witness the life-saving research she will be able to lead here at Hopkins.”
