
Gregory Wellenius, SCD
Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health
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 5/29/2025
Wesselink AK, Gause EL, Spangler KD, Hystad P, Kirwa K, Willis MD, Wellenius GA, Wise LA. Erratum: Exposure to Ambient Heat and Risk of Spontaneous Abortion: A Case-Crossover Study. Epidemiology. 2025 Jul 01; 36(4):e19. PMID: 40424394.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/17/2025
Korfmacher M, Hartwell C, Hill K, Matthews-Trigg N, Hess J, Nori-Sarma A, Wellenius G, Errett N. Lessons learnt from the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome: a qualitative study of western Washington's healthcare community response. BMJ Open. 2025 Apr 17; 15(4):e089093. PMID: 40246560.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/29/2025
de Bont J, Rajiva A, Mandal S, Stafoggia M, Banerjee T, Dholakia H, Garg A, Ingole V, Jaganathan S, Kloog I, Krishna B, Lane K, Mall RK, Menon J, Nori-Sarma A, Prabhakaran D, Tiwari AS, Wei Y, Wellenius GA, Schwartz J, Prabhakaran P, Ljungman P. Synergistic associations of ambient air pollution and heat on daily mortality in India. Environ Int. 2025 May; 199:109426. PMID: 40245548.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 2/20/2025
Harrington LB, Cushing-Haugen KL, Nguyen S, Bellettiere J, LaMonte MJ, Eaton CB, Allison MA, Wallace RB, Manson JE, Jensen MK, Kabrhel C, Wellenius GA, Lee IM, Mukamal KJ, LaCroix AZ. Sedentary behaviors and venous thromboembolism risk among older women: the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health study. J Thromb Haemost. 2025 May; 23(5):1636-1647. PMID: 39986610.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 2/12/2025
Hoover C, Trivedi AN, Bello A, Culpepper WJ, Gasper J, Gaither R, Jiang L, Rennix C, Schneiderman A, Wellenius GA, Woskie SR, Savitz DA. Deployment to bases with open burn pits and mortality of US Military Veterans. Occup Environ Med. 2025 Feb 12; 81(12):632-634. PMID: 39730200.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/11/2024
Stowell JD, Sue Wing I, Romitti Y, Kinney PL, Wellenius GA. Emergency department visits in California associated with wildfire PM2.5: differing risk across individuals and communities. Environ Res Health. 2025 Mar 01; 3(1):015002. PMID: 39670153.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/1/2024
Jaganathan S, Stafoggia M, Rajiva A, Mandal S, Dixit S, de Bont J, Wellenius GA, Lane KJ, Nori-Sarma A, Kloog I, Prabhakaran D, Prabhakaran P, Schwartz J, Ljungman P. Estimating the effect of annual PM2·5 exposure on mortality in India: a difference-in-differences approach. Lancet Planet Health. 2024 Dec; 8(12):e987-e996. PMID: 39674205.
Read At: PubMed
- 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. 2025 Jan 01; 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 10/28/2024
Maji KJ, Li Z, Hu Y, Vaidyanathan A, Stowell JD, Milando C, Wellenius G, Kinney PL, Russell AG, Talat Odman M. Prescribed burn related increases of population exposure to PM2.5 and O3 pollution in the southeastern US over 2013-2020. Environ Int. 2024 Nov; 193:109101. PMID: 39509841.
Read At: PubMed
View 234 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
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Published on June 13, 2025
Loss of NOAA, FEMA Expertise ‘Will Be Really Difficult to Rebuild’
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Published on May 1, 2025
How Higher Temperatures and More Pollen Are Affecting the Health of Boston Residents
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Published on April 16, 2025
Scientists Warn Rising Heat Could Cause More Mental Health Disorders
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Published on April 15, 2025
Scientists Warn Rising Heat Could Cause More Mental Health Disorders
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Published on February 26, 2025
Extreme Heat Linked to Accelerated Aging in Older Adults, Study Finds
- Published on January 31, 2025
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Published on January 10, 2025
Lower Access to Air Conditioning May Increase Need for Emergency Care for Wildfire Smoke Exposure
- Published on January 9, 2025
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Published on October 11, 2024
Extreme Heat May Substantially Raise Mortality Risk for People Experiencing Homelessness
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Published on October 4, 2024
BU-Harvard Center Fosters Climate and Health Data at Crucial Moment
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Published on August 27, 2024
Heat Kills Thousands in the U.S. Every Year. Why Are the Deaths So Hard to Track?
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Published on August 23, 2024
Heat Kills Thousands in the U.S. Every Year. Why Are the Deaths So Hard to Track?
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Published on July 22, 2024
Heat-Related Texas Deaths Climb after Beryl Left Millions without Power for Days or Longer
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Published on July 22, 2024
Heat-Related Texas Deaths Climb after Beryl Left Millions without Power for Days or Longer
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Published on July 22, 2024
Heat Deaths in Texas Climb after Beryl Left Millions without Power for Days or Longer
- Published on July 2, 2024
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Published on June 26, 2024
Car Crashes Rise, Test Scores Plummet: The Hidden Ways Extreme Heat Affects Our Bodies and Our Minds
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Published on June 11, 2024
Here’s Why an Arizona Medical Examiner Is Working to Track Heat-Related Deaths
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Published on May 23, 2024
Sewage Overflows Linked to Increase in Gastrointestinal Illnesses
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Published on February 29, 2024
The Human Cost of Climate-Related Disasters Is Acutely Undercounted, New Study Says
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Published on February 23, 2024
Air Pollution’s Tiny Particles Pose Significant Health Risks
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Published on February 16, 2024
BU-Harvard Research Coordinating Center Hosts Inaugural Climate and Health Conference
- Published on January 11, 2024
- Published on October 27, 2023
- Published on September 7, 2023
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Published on August 31, 2023
Most New England States Don’t Track ‘Heat-Related’ Deaths. Experts Say That’s a Problem
- Published on August 14, 2023
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Published on August 11, 2023
Return of Hot Weather Pattern El Niño Will Exacerbate the Effects of Climate Change, Warn Experts
- Published on August 11, 2023
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Published on August 11, 2023
‘We’re in Serious Trouble’: Why a Hotter World Will Be Bad for Our Health
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Published on August 2, 2023
July 2023 Sees Record Number of Deceased Person Calls Amidst Unrelenting Heat
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Published on August 1, 2023
Heat-Related Deaths on the Rise as Senate GOP Pushes to Nix Climate Regulations
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Published on August 1, 2023
‘Silent Killer’: Experts Warn of Record Us Deaths from Extreme Heat
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Published on June 24, 2023
SPH and the Chicago Tribune Collaborate to Map Heat Risk in Chicago
- Published on May 19, 2023
- Published on May 9, 2023
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Published on May 5, 2023
‘The Future of Population Health’ Event Cites Challenges, Opportunities
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Published on December 16, 2022
Warm Days Are Contributing to Gun Violence Surge across the US
- Published on November 29, 2022
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Published on November 1, 2022
Stepping Up: Reducing the Adverse Health Impacts and Inequalities of Climate Change
- Published on September 7, 2022
- Published on August 11, 2022
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Published on July 22, 2022
What Is a Heat Wave? Here’s What It Is, How It Effects Your Body and How to Stay Safe.
- Published on May 28, 2022
- Published on May 28, 2022
- Published on May 23, 2022
- Published on March 2, 2022
- Published on March 1, 2022
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Published on February 27, 2022
Extreme Heat Linked to Increase in Mental Health Emergency Care
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Published on February 23, 2022
Extreme Heat Raises Risk for Mental Health Crises in U.S., Study Finds
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Published on February 23, 2022
Extreme Heat Linked to Increase in Mental Health Emergency Care
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Published on February 23, 2022
Hot Days Lead To More Mental Health Emergencies, Study Finds
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Published on January 20, 2022
Climate Change Linked to Early Birth and Damage to Babies’ Health, Scientists Find
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Published on January 19, 2022
New Research Shows How Health Risks to Children Mount as Temperatures Rise
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Published on January 19, 2022
Climate Change’s Adverse Effects on Health Starts in the Womb, Studies Find
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Published on January 19, 2022
Global Heating Linked to Early Birth and Damage to Babies’ Health, Scientists Find
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Published on January 19, 2022
New Studies Link Global Warming to Early Births and Effects on Babies’ Health
- Published on January 11, 2022
- Published on December 17, 2021
- Published on December 7, 2021
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Published on December 3, 2021
Younger Adults More Likely to Go to Ed on Days of Extreme Heat
- Published on December 1, 2021
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Published on November 30, 2021
Extreme Heat May Impact Younger People More than Elderly – Study
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Published on November 29, 2021
Extreme Heat Is a Threat to a Wider Range of People than We Thought
- Published on November 29, 2021
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Published on November 24, 2021
Extreme Heat May Affect Young and Middle-Aged Adults More Than Older Adults
- Published on November 4, 2021
- Published on October 28, 2021
- Published on October 18, 2021
- Published on October 1, 2021
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Published on September 7, 2021
At Least 600 Excess Deaths Recorded After Brutal Northwest Heatwaves
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Published on August 12, 2021
Hidden Toll of the Northwest Heat Wave: Hundreds of Extra Deaths
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Published on July 26, 2021
Cooling Aid Shifts from Luxury to Necessity for Some in Mass.
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Published on June 28, 2021
As Temperatures Set Records, Heat Exposure Hits Some Neighborhoods Harder Than Others
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Published on June 4, 2021
California Mandated Masks. Florida Opened Its Restaurants. Did Any of It Matter?