Jose Guillermo "Memo" Cedeño Laurent, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health, has been named a 2024-2025 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Climate and Health Scholar.
The NIH Climate and Health Scholars Program connects climate and health scientists from outside the federal government with NIH researchers to share their knowledge and expertise.
In October 2024, NIH welcomed its third class of Climate and Health Scholars who will remain in the program until September 2025. Scholars will complete a diverse array of projects and publicly present as part of the NIH Seminar Series.
Cedeño Laurent’s research focuses on understanding climate change and health outcomes and exploring the benefits of healthy indoor environments as a human right. As part of his program activities, he will work with staff at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to help strengthen the Institute’s climate and health knowledge base.
"My expertise in environmental exposure science positions me uniquely to help NIAMS align its research focus with the NIH Climate Change and Health framework,” said Cedeño Laurent. “By identifying key intersections between climate stressors and disease outcomes relevant to NIAMS’ mission, I can contribute to shaping the direction of a comprehensive research framework. Additionally, leveraging my background, I aim to facilitate an expert panel discussion to ensure the framework addresses emerging challenges and opportunities at the nexus of climate change and diseases within the NIAMS mission.
