Our Planetary Health Research Program
2021-2022
Planetary Health Scholars
August Easton-Calabria
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
As a master’s student in the Department of Entomology, they research the collective behavior in bumble bee populations and how aspects of the insects’ life histories shape their responses to a rapidly changing environment.
Advisor: James Crall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology
H S Sathya Chandra Sagar
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
He considers the ecological impacts of human activities while studying the effectiveness of conservation strategies to protect biodiversity in tropical forests.
Advisor: Zuzana Burivalova, M.Sc., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology, and The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Ciaran Gallagher
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
As a Ph.D student, her research lies at the intersections of climate change, air quality, public health, and environmental justice.
Advisor: Tracey Holloway, Ph.D, Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Nick Mailloux
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
His research interests lie at the intersection of climate change, energy policy and public health, and his work focuses on quantifying the air quality health benefits of the transition to a clean energy economy in the United States.
Advisor: Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH, John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment, Former Director, Global Health Institute, UW-Madison
Katie Tredinnick
School of Medicine and Public Health
As a master’s student, she seeks to explore relationships between zoonoses, biosecurity practices and sustainable agriculture within the Ugandan livestock production sector.
Advisor: Dörte Döpfer, DVM, M.Sc., Ph.D, Associate Professor of Food Animal Production Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine
Disciplines Represented
2020-2021
Planetary Health Scholars
Daniel Hayden
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
As a first year doctoral student, he is attempting to link soil microbial diversity to plant diversity and productivity in diverse cropping systems.
Advisor: Richard Lankau, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology
Jules Reynolds
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
She researches the politics of climate change within the context of small-scale agriculture, and how these politics affect the health of farmers, agricultural systems and communities.
Advisor: Michael Bell, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Department of Community and Environmental Sociology
Ben Iuliano
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
His interests lie at the intersection of insect conservation, sustainable agriculture, and political ecology. Specifically, he studies biological pest control by lady beetles in Southern Wisconsin.
Advisor: Claudio Gratton, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology
Martin Ventura
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
As an entomology student, he aims to formulate low-cost insect feeds derived from common crop residues such as maize, stover and straw that have been inoculated with edible fungus.
Advisor: Susan Paskewitz, professor and chair, Department of Entomology; director, Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector Borne Disease
Sila Temizel Sekeryan
College of Engineering
She focuses on the environmental and human health impacts of engineered nanomaterials and finding ways to mitigate them associated with their lifecycles.
Advisor: Andrea Hicks, Ph.D., assistant professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Rebecca Alcock
College of Engineering
As a Ph.D student, her studies focus on the intersection of product design and the social sciences to tackle global inequality, particularly in health.
Advisor: Justin Boutilier, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Aida Arosoaie
College of Letters & Science
She explores the relocation of forest-dwelling communities in Southeast Asia, using a decolonial lens to focus on the intersections of extractive capitalism, environmental change and religion.
Advisor: Maria Lepowsky, professor, Department of Anthropology
Lisa Charron
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Her research focuses on incorporating healthy eating and active living strategies in urban and regional planning policies.
Advisor: James LaGro, Ph.D., MLA, Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture/ Environmental Studies
Yaa Oparebea Ampofo
School of Education
She is thinking within alternative and subaltern ecological frameworks of planetary health and comparing narratives, representations, and practices of environmental education across indigenous, religious and Western-scientific discursive spaces in Ghana.
Advisor: Nancy Kendall, professor and chair, Department of Policy Studies; director, African Studies Program
Jessica LeClair
School of Nursing
As a doctoral student and clinical faculty member with the UW-Madison School of Nursing, she is integrating the concepts of planetary health and climate justice into undergraduate and graduate courses.
Advisor: Susan Zahner, DrPH, R.N., FAAN
Disciplines Represented
2020 Spring
Planetary Health Scholars
Martin Ventura
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
As an entomology student, he aims to formulate low-cost insect feeds derived from common crop residues such as maize, stover and straw that have been inoculated with edible fungus.
Advisor: Susan Paskewitz, professor and chair, Department of Entomology; director, Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector Borne Disease
Ben Iuliano
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
His interests lie at the intersection of insect conservation, sustainable agriculture, and political ecology. Specifically, he studies biological pest control by lady beetles in Southern Wisconsin.
Advisor: Claudio Gratton, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology
Jonathan Lala
College of Engineering
His research focuses on the intersection of climate, water and human development, particularly through the use of climate forecasts for informed management of water resources.
Advisor: Paul Block, Ph.D., M.S., associate professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ramin Ghamkhar
College of Engineering
As a doctoral student, his work focuses on the food-energy-water nexus and sustainability of food production systems.
Advisor: Andrea Hicks, Ph.D., M.S., assistant professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Pearly Wong
College of Letters & Sciences
Her research interest is in development, environment, sustainability and intersectionality, through a decolonizing lens.
Advisor: Maria Lepowsky, Ph.D., Professor, Anthropology
Jessica LeClair
College of Nursing
As a doctoral student and clinical faculty member with the UW-Madison School of Nursing, she is integrating the concepts of planetary health and climate justice into undergraduate and graduate courses.
Advisor: Susan Zahner, DrPH, R.N., FAAN