Immune-mediated diseases and climate change

Chair of the Department of Environmental Health
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA

Dr Kari Nadeau’s pioneering work in allergy and immunology has significantly advanced our understanding of the environmental factors like air pollution, wildfires, and climate change affect the risk of developing allergies, asthma, and other immune disorders, especially in children. Her groundbreaking work in oral immunotherapy (OIT) has demonstrated that controlled exposure to allergens can induce desensitization in allergic individuals providing a potential pathway to reduce or eliminate severe allergic reactions.

Kari is working with the WHO to develop policies for mitigating and adapting to environmental changes, especially wildland fires to create resiliency and co-benefits in communities. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. EPA Children's Health Protection Committee.

Professor of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania

Prof Ioana Agache’s is a renowned expert in the field of asthma and allergy and clinical immunology. Her research explores asthma phenotypes and endotypes, biomarkers, immune modulation, AI/machine learning, and integrated management of allergic diseases, with a special focus on exposomics and One Health.

She is Past President of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and led the development of their guidelines on the use of biologics in asthma and allergic diseases, on environmental science for allergy and asthma, and on allergic asthma. Prof. Agache's expertise is widely recognized, as evidenced by her role as the Deputy Editor of the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Professor of Immunopharmacology
University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, UK

Prof Sir Stephen Holgate’s pioneering research has profoundly impacted our understanding and treatment of allergic and respiratory diseases, including asthma, COPD and COVID-19. His research has informed guidelines on asthma management — including the role of mast cells and their mediators in asthma and allied disorders, the regulation and pharmacology of mast cells, and placing inflammation at the core of asthma pathophysiology. His work has informed international asthma management guidelines and validated therapeutic targets, improving patient care worldwide.

His current research focuses on stratified medicine, the role of the epithelium in orchestrating asthma and the evolution of asthma across the life course. In 2020, he received a Knighthood for services to medical research.

University Professor and Director of Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication
George Mason University, USA

Prof Edward Maibach’s research centers on understanding and promoting public engagement in climate change. Previously, Ed served as Associate Director of the National Cancer Institute and as Worldwide Director of Social Marketing at Porter Novelli International.

In 2021, news agency Thompson Reuters identified him as one of the world’s 10 most influential scientists working on climate change. He is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. In 2020, he was awarded the Beck Family Presidential Medal of Excellence in Research and Scholarship.

Director, Northern California Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
University of California San Francisco and Berkeley, USA

Dr John Balmes’s research is dedicated to the respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic health effects of various air pollutants and occupational agents.

John collaborates on several epidemiological projects that are run out of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, including the Children’s Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS). He also collaborates on studies of the effects of biomass smoke exposure on the respiratory health of children as well as respiratory and cardiovascular health of adults in rural Guatemala, Malawi, Rwanda, and Nepal. Currently, he is a member of the Nitrogen Oxides and Sulfur Oxides Review Panel of CASAC.

Director, Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA

Physician and public health professional Dr John Balbus specializes in the health implications of climate change and building healthy, sustainable, resilient communities and environment. Since joining the federal government in 2009, he has served as HHS Principal to the U.S. Global Change Research Program and co-chair of the working group on Climate Change and Human Health for the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

John has also served as Senior Advisor for Public Health to the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021..