Gregory Wellenius
Profiles

Gregory Wellenius, SCD

Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-2269
wellenius@bu.edu
Talbot
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Biography

Gregory Wellenius is a Professor on Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Director of the new BUSPH Center for Climate and Health. He is an environmental epidemiologist committed to reducing the adverse health impacts of continued climate change through research, training, and engagement. Dr. Wellenius also teaches an introductory graduate-level class on quantitative methods and serves on the Research Committee of the Health Effects Institute, as a visiting scientist with Google, and on the executive committee of the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance.

In partnership with a faculty, staff, and students from diverse disciplines, Dr. Wellenius’s research seeks to generate the actionable scientific evidence needed to ensure that our communities are as resilient, sustainable, and healthy as possible. Specifically, his group seeks to: 1) understand the adverse health impacts of extreme weather events, air pollution, and other climate-relevant hazards, 2) assess the effectiveness of strategies to reduce these adverse health impacts, and 3) leverage novel signals to provide timely and actionable insights to public health officials and other key stakeholders. For example, his recent publications highlight the risks posed by extreme heat to our physical and mental health, the limited health benefits of heat warnings and advisories, and the potential utility of data on internet search patterns and population mobility to inform public health.

Prior to joining the faculty at BU in 2020, Dr. Wellenius served as Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health and Director of Brown’s Center for Environmental Health and Technology. Prior to that, he earned dual doctorate degrees from the Departments of Environmental Health and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Cardiovascular Division of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital), and served as Instructor in Medicine at BIDMC and Harvard Medical School. He has published extensively on the cardiovascular effects of ambient air pollution, contributed to the US EPA’s 2009 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter, provided invited expert testimony on this topic before the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, and served as a co-author of the 4th National Climate Assessment of the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). He is the 2019 winner of the ISEE Tony McMichael Mid-Term Career Award.

Other Positions

  • Director, Center for Climate & Health - Boston University School of Public Health

Education

  • Harvard School of Public Health, ScD Field of Study: Environmental Health
  • McGill University, MSc
  • McGill University, BSc

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHPH717

Publications

  • Published on 11/5/2024

    Jaganathan S, Rajiva A, Amini H, de Bont J, Dixit S, Dutta A, Kloog I, Lane KJ, Menon JS, Nori-Sarma A, Prabhakaran D, Schwartz J, Sharma P, Stafoggia M, Walia GK, Wellenius GA, Prabhakaran P, Ljungman P, Mandal S. Nationwide analysis of air pollution hotspots across India: A spatiotemporal PM2.5 trend analysis (2008-2019). Environ Res. 2024 Nov 05; 264(Pt 1):120276. PMID: 39510231.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/4/2024

    Lin Z, Weinberger E, Nori-Sarma A, Chinchilla M, Wellenius GA, Jay J. Daily heat and mortality among people experiencing homelessness in 2 urban US counties, 2015-2022. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Nov 04; 193(11):1576-1582. PMID: 38844692.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/9/2024

    Milando CW, Sun Y, Romitti Y, Nori-Sarma A, Gause EL, Spangler KR, Sue Wing I, Wellenius GA. Generalizability of heat-related health risk associations observed in a large healthcare claims database of patients with commercial health insurance. Epidemiology. 2024 Aug 09; 35(6):844-52. PMID: 39120949.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/1/2024

    Young MT, Vispute S, Serghiou S, Kumok A, Shah Y, Lane KJ, Black-Ingersoll F, Brochu P, Bharel M, Skenazy S, Karthikesalingam A, Bavadekar S, Kansal M, Shekel T, Gabrilovich E, Wellenius GA. Quantifying urban park use in the USA at scale: empirical estimates of realised park usage using smartphone location data. Lancet Planet Health. 2024 Aug; 8(8):e564-e573. PMID: 39122325.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/26/2024

    Wesselink AK, Gause EL, Spangler KD, Hystad P, Kirwa K, Willis MD, Wellenius GA, Wise LA. EXPOSURE TO AMBIENT HEAT AND RISK OF SPONTANEOUS ABORTION: A CASE-CROSSOVER STUDY. Epidemiology. 2024 Jul 26. PMID: 39058555.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/17/2024

    Fruh V, Babalola T, Sears C, Wellenius GA, Webster TF, Mann KK, Harrington J, Tjønneland A, Raaschou-Nielsen O, Claus Henn B, Meliker JR. Dietary Minerals and Incident Cardiovascular Outcomes among Never-Smokers in a Danish Case-Cohort Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jul 17; 21(7). PMID: 39063508.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/1/2024

    de Bont J, Krishna B, Stafoggia M, Banerjee T, Dholakia H, Garg A, Ingole V, Jaganathan S, Kloog I, Lane K, Mall RK, Mandal S, Nori-Sarma A, Prabhakaran D, Rajiva A, Tiwari AS, Wei Y, Wellenius GA, Schwartz J, Prabhakaran P, Ljungman P. Ambient air pollution and daily mortality in ten cities of India: a causal modelling study. Lancet Planet Health. 2024 Jul; 8(7):e433-e440. PMID: 38969471.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/1/2024

    Bernstein AS, Malits JR, Wellenius GA. The Untapped Potential of Precision Health to Improve Heat Resilience for Those Who Need It Most. Am J Public Health. 2024 Jul; 114(7):682-684. PMID: 38838293.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/29/2024

    Maji KJ, Li Z, Vaidyanathan A, Hu Y, Stowell JD, Milando C, Wellenius G, Kinney PL, Russell AG, Odman MT. Estimated Impacts of Prescribed Fires on Air Quality and Premature Deaths in Georgia and Surrounding Areas in the US, 2015-2020. Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Jul 16; 58(28):12343-12355. PMID: 38943591.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/22/2024

    Haley BM, Sun Y, Jagai JS, Leibler JH, Fulweiler R, Ashmore J, Wellenius GA, Heiger-Bernays W. Association between Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Gastrointestinal Illness in Massachusetts Municipalities with and without River-Sourced Drinking Water, 2014-2019. Environ Health Perspect. 2024 May; 132(5):57008. PMID: 38775485.

     Read At: PubMed

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