Learning from Disasters: Overcoming Challenges from Research to Policy: IHPS Health Policy Grand Rounds: Gina Solomon, MD, MPH

In the 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the frequency of climate-related disasters has continued to increase. This talk will describe the challenges of conducting scientific research in the aftermath of disasters, the importance of rapid translation of preliminary results to actionable recommendations, and the mixed success of policy change to address disaster threats. The session will underscore the importance of learning from disasters to improve prevention and reduce threats to human health. 

Gina Solomon is the Chief of Occupational, Environmental & Climate Medicine at UCSF, where she oversees clinical occupational health activities at UCSF Health, ZSFG and the VA; leads research efforts in environmental health, and directs the Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) residency program. She is also the Principal Investigator of the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit.

Dr. Solomon was previously the Deputy Secretary for Science and Health at the California Environmental Protection Agency. She also worked at the Public Health Institute (PHI) where she established and led the Achieving Resilient Communities (ARC) project to develop actionable interventions to reduce climate change impacts in farmworker communities. Early in her career, Dr. Solomon was at the Natural Resources Defense Council where she led their environmental assessments after Hurricane Katrina and after the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Dr. Solomon received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, her M.D. from Yale, and did her M.P.H. and her residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and occupational and environmental medicine at Harvard.