Nature and Health: A Cells to Society Approach

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The purpose of the workshop is to generate an actionable and inclusive research approach to better understand and address the relationship between nature and human health.

 

September 19-20, 2024

This 1.5-day workshop will explore five research areas in nature and health:

  1. How to define nature in research
  2. Nature, the cell and the body
  3. Nature, the brain and mental health
  4. Equitable access and pathways to the health benefits of nature
  5. Nature exposure measurement: geography and dose

Special guests include:

  • Howard Frumkin, Trust for Public Land
  • Chris Minson, University of Oregon
  • Jason Watson, UC Denver
  • Jennifer Roberts, Wekesa Earth Center, University of Maryland
  • John Wilson, Spatial Science Institute, University of Southern California
  • Liisa Tyrvainen, Natural Resources Institute (Finland)
  • Richard Mitchell, University of Glasgow (Scotland)
  • Robert Zarr, ParksRX America
  • Rosella Alfano, Hasselt University (Belgium)
  • Somayeh Dodge, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Terry Hartig, Upsala University (Sweden)
  • Xiaoqi Feng, University of New South Wales (Australia)
  • Amelia Rose, Groundwork Rhode Island
  • Jue Yang, Brown University
  • Viniece Jennings, Florida A&M University 
  • Michael Charles, Cornell University
  • Wendy Nilsson, City of Providence Parks Department
  • Jihong Min, Caltech
  • Matthew Browning, Clemson University
  • Wei-Lun Tsai, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Spots are limited. In order to maximize the diversity of the academic background and lived experience of our participants, we invite you to fill out this brief form before we confirm registration.

Once your spot is confirmed, you will be invited to select which sessions you would like to attend, however we encourage full participation since each session will build on prior sessions.

On behalf of the planning committee:

  • Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Co-Chair
  • Kevin Mwenda, Associate Professor of Population Studies, Director of the Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences, Co-Chair
  • Chris Moore, Professor of Neuroscience, Associate Director of the Carney Institute for Brain Science
  • Jeff Huang, Associate Professor of Computer Science
  • John McGeary, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
  • Kelly Holder, Assistant Professor, Warren Alpert Medical School
  • Kurt Pennell, 250th Anniversary Professor of Engineering
  • Betsy Stubblefield Loucks, Associate Director, Research Strategy and Development, Workshop Designer and Facilitator

This workshop was made possible thanks to support from the Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) program, the School of Public Health, and a Seed Award from the Brown University Division of Research and the Office of Research Strategy and Development. We are grateful to the Population Studies and Training Center at Brown University, which receives funding from the NIH (P2C HD041020), for general support.