Patrick Kinney

Patrick Kinney, affiliated faculty with the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS), examines the intersection of global environmental change and human health, with an emphasis on climate change and air pollution. His work on the human health effects of air pollution spans four decades, including studies of the effects of ozone and particulate matter on lung health and on daily mortality in US cities. He has led studies of ambient and household air pollution in Africa and China, including a large randomized trial examining the potential health benefits of clean cooking technologies in rural Ghana. He created and directed the first climate and health program in the US at Columbia University, where he pioneered studies examining how climate change could increase health risks from air pollution and extreme heat in the future.

Since coming to BU in 2017, Kinney has focused on the health and climate benefits that can be achieved through urban mitigation and adaptation strategies. He earned his doctorate at the Harvard School of Public Health, studying the effects of air pollution on lung function in children as part of the Harvard Six Cities Air Pollution and Health Study.