CAFÉ: a Research Coordinating Center to Convene, Accelerate, Foster, and Expand the Climate Change and Health Community of Practice

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Project Summary / Abstract Research in climate and health is currently hampered because: (1) The Community of Practice (COP) in this space is fractured, frequently siloed within disciplines, and concentrated in a few well-resourced institutions and countries; (2) Cutting-edge data assets exist, but are often hard to find, inconsistently documented, and challenging to manage and link to other data resources; (3) Many researchers, especially early-stage investigators (ESIs), do not have access to compliant, computationally efficient, and secure computing environments; and (4) We lack a centralized platform that can support the domestic and global capacity-building initiatives needed to expand pathways for CCH researchers, including providing educational resources, mentoring, and funding for pilot and time-sensitive projects. We propose to create the BUSPH-HSPH-CAFÉ, a Research Coordinating Center (RCC) leveraging the ecosystem of state-of-the-art research, education, and policy translation in climate change and health (CCH) at the Boston University School of Public Health and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to: (1) CONVENE the community of practice (COP) via the Administrative Function; (2) ACCELERATE research via the Data Management Function; (3) FOSTER collaborations across the COP via the Resource Function; and (4) EXPAND the CCH- COP via the Capacity Building Function. Dr. Gregory Wellenius, Dr. Francesca Dominici, and Dr. Amruta Nori-Sarma are the ideal multiple-PI team for the CAFÉ based on: (1) their large and diverse network of collaborators, including top experts in the fields of climate change, adverse health outcomes, environmental epidemiology, data sciences, and statistics, (2) their prior experience leading high-impact research relevant to CCH; and (3) their commitment to capacity building through mentorship and support, particularly in support of diversity and inclusion. By engaging our partners in NGOs, government, industry, and community-based groups, and by leveraging the expertise of the PIs, the CAFÉ will enable the COP to more rapidly and effectively advance our understanding – and minimize the consequences – of the health consequences of continued climate change Research advances of the COP will be timely, policy-relevant, and catalytic, with far-reaching applications for improved local, national, and global climate resilience.