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The two CARB funded White Papers presented in this seminar provide an overview of research that evaluates race/ethnicity in air quality and climate change impacts, and identifies research gaps; highlights the need for better methods and tools; and offers recommendations to enhance state-level vulnerability tools and analyses. Following are brief overviews of the two papers:
Analysis of Race/Ethnicity in Social Determinants of Health and Climate Change Vulnerability, examines the disproportionate climate change-related risks and impacts faced by specific population groups and communities, and how these risks are influenced by social determinants of health. This paper also recommends areas for further research on climate and health impacts by racial and ethnic groups. The results of this review will assist broader understanding of climate-related health disparities and impacts among racial and ethnic groups in California.
Health Impacts by Race/Ethnicity in Air Pollution Studies in California, dives into the vast body of air pollution epidemiology literature to provide clarity on the challenges in evaluating race/ethnicity in these studies. The review evaluated the epidemiological analysis methodologies used in the research and offers methodological recommendations on the use of racial and ethnic information in air pollution epidemiology studies.
Date: June 20, 2025 (Friday)
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom
Background
Air pollution and climate change play crucial roles in contributing to health disparities through both differential exposure and differential susceptibility in impacted communities. CARB is committed to closing persisting health and opportunity gaps across different communities.
To help protect our most vulnerable communities and increase resilience to climate change and air pollution, it is essential to continue to increase our understanding of the differential impacts of climate change and air pollution in vulnerable populations. These two White Papers provide information on gaps in knowledge of the impacts in vulnerable communities.
Biographies
PI: Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD
Dr. Benmarhnia is a member of the faculty at the University of California, San Diego as an Assistant Professor in both the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography- CASPO (Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography), where he shares his unique expertise in combining atmospheric, econometric, and epidemiologic modelling, as well as contributing as a lecturer in courses on environmental epidemiology (introductory to advanced), the impact of climate change on health, and advanced methods in epidemiology.
Dr. Benmarhnia has a very rich and diverse educational profile that has given him the ability to explore cross-disciplinary fields of public health and other disciplines. He received his PhD jointly from The University of Montreal and from Paris-Sud University. He also has two master's degrees, one in Environmental Health Sciences Engineering from the French School of Higher Education in Public Health, and another in Pharmacy and Ecotoxicology from Montpellier University in France. He also completed his BA in Environmental Sciences from Montpellier University. To further his training, he also worked as an environmental scientist on contaminated soil with the French Railway Company, a health scientist with the French National Institute of Health Education and Prevention, and a post-doc at McGill University’s Institute for Health and Social Policy. Dr. Benmarhnia has a unique niche of combining expertise in epidemiology study design and health risk assessment with climate and econometric models, as well as a clear understanding of health policy and a passion for social science and equity as they relate to public health.
Katie Crist, PhD, MPH
Dr. Crist is an Assistant Professor at San Diego State University in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences. Her research is focused on understanding how programmatic and built environment interventions impact physical activity, travel behaviors and health. She received her PhD from the University of Southern Denmark and a Masters of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health. Her doctoral work focused on data driven collaboration between researchers and transportation planners to improve health through active travel. She is currently leading a 3-year study to understand how travel behaviors, health and equity outcomes change during the COVID-19 recovery period and in the context of the new light rail extension to UCSD. She aims to contribute evidence to build communities that support active lifestyles, health equity, and climate sustainability.
Chen Chen, PhD, MSPH
Dr. Chen is a postdoctoral scholar at Climate, Atmospheric Science & Physical Oceanography. Her research explored different aspects of health impact from air pollution, including air pollutants from biomass combustion in developing country, temporal trend of association between fine particulate matter and human health, air pollution related health impact under climate change, and population disparities in air pollution related health burdens. She completed a Ph.D. degree in Environmental Health Sciences from Yale University School of the Environment and a M.S.P.H. degree in Occupational Health and Environmental Hygiene from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Arnab Dey, PhD
Dr. Dey is a public health researcher with a PhD from University of California San Diego in Global Health. His research focuses on understanding how environmental and climate stressors affect health outcomes, with an emphasis on maternal and child health. His public health expertise ranges from implementing interventions aimed at improving access and utilization of healthcare services to evaluating the efficacy of large-scale technical support programs to local governments. Through interdisciplinary approaches, he works to advance health equity and outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations.
Contact
For further information regarding the content of the seminar agenda, please contact Shayna Simona, Air Pollution Specialist or May Bhetraratana, Staff Air Pollution Specialist.
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