EAP Program Faculty Member Jonathan Patz has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine for his pioneering research linking the effects of climate change with public health. Patz also directs UW–Madison’s Global Health Institute and is the John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Population Health Sciences. For 14 years, Patz served as a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
Some of his team’s groundbreaking research includes the impact of climate change on increased risk for asthma, the relationship between heat wave mortality and latitude, identifying populations most vulnerable to heat-related morbidity, and more recently, the substantial health benefits that arise from improved air quality and physical fitness by reducing the use of fossil fuels.
Patz has been elected alongside 100 new members that “represent the most exceptional scholars and leaders whose remarkable work has advanced science, medicine, and health in the U.S. and around the globe,” according National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau. “Their expertise will be vital to addressing today’s most pressing health and scientific challenges and informing the future of health and medicine for the benefit of us all. I am honored to welcome these esteemed individuals to the National Academy of Medicine.”