The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), is supporting research to bolster the collection of time-sensitive health data in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Beryl, the Los Angeles wildfires, and other natural disasters.
The research projects are part of a larger effort by two NIH-NSF-supported research centers to understand how extreme weather affects human health, creates complex exposures to environmental hazards, and impacts access to health care and other vital services.
UCLA graduate students prepare a fixed-wing drone in Altadena, Calif. The RAPID Facility helps research teams deploy quickly to set up monitoring equipment, collect environmental samples, and survey affected populations following a disaster. (Photo courtesy of the RAPID Facility)
“This collaborative effort helps fill a long-standing gap by initiating timely health studies and capturing critical health data that may otherwise be lost,” said Aubrey Miller, M.D., Senior Medical Advisor and Director of the NIH Disaster Research Response Program.
He added that disaster research has historically focused on the effectiveness of emergency responses rather than the immediate and long-term health consequences of disasters on our communities.
Supporting quick-response research
Peek says the NIH-NSF awards support the next generation of researchers and early-career scientists who are examining the link between disasters and health. (Photo courtesy of Lori Peek)
The Natural Hazards Center (NHC) at the University of Colorado Boulder is one of two centers working with researchers across the U.S. on this effort. The NHC has supported rapid disaster response research on socio-behavioral impacts through its Quick Response Research Award Program for 40 years. However, the NIH-NSF partnership has provided funding to enable the center to support projects focused on the different health outcomes of these events.
“These awards are transformative,” said Lori Peek, Ph.D., director of the NHC. “We can now explore new frontiers in health and disaster research that have the potential to improve disaster response and future preparedness in immediate and life-saving ways.”
Through this effort, the NHC has provided more than $450,000 in awards to support 12 novel time-sensitive studies following disaster events between 2023 and 2025. A sample of the research projects, and the universities conducting them, follows.
- Assessing community impacts and early warnings in Nebraska tornadoes University of Nebraska Medical Center
- California wildfire smoke events: life course risk perceptions and mental health impacts
New York University - Impacts of flooding on opioid use disorder in western Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania State University - Longitudinal evaluation of wildfire impacts on a cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)/University of Southern California - Mental health of community volunteers in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
Appalachian State University - Transit riders’ health risks during the Los Angeles wildfires
UCLA/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/Texas A&M University/California Polytechnic State University/University of Washington/Utah State University
Learn more about all projects funded under the NHC’s special call for health outcomes and disaster research by visiting this website.
Supporting rapid-research technology to understand exposures
The NIH-NSF partnership is also providing funding to the Natural Hazards Reconnaissance (RAPID) Facility at the University of Washington to enable health researchers across the U.S. to have timely access, training, and support to critical instruments for collecting information on exposures. The RAPID Facility provides researchers with uncrewed aircraft systems or drones, hyperspectral and multispectral cameras, and street view imaging to help researchers capture time-sensitive health data in response to wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters.
The RAPID Facility recently played a critical role in supporting researchers studying the health effects of the Los Angeles wildfires. By providing cutting-edge technology, the RAPID Facility supported immediate, post-fire analysis to improve understanding of wildfire behavior and human exposures. The data collected could be used to conduct long-term health studies and robust environmental exposure assessments.
(Samantha Ebersold is a communications specialist in the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison.)
