Affiliate Spotlight: John (JT) Lambert
Each newsletter we feature a CCH affiliate to learn a bit more about their work. This month we speak with John (JT) Lambert, a 2024 Center for Climate and Health Fellow and recent BUSPH MPH graduate.
Tell us a bit about your background in public health:
I earned my MPH from BUSPH with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics and focused on infectious disease and environmental health. Before that, I studied behavioral neuroscience at Northeastern University. Following graduation, I worked at PIH for nearly two years as an outbreak specialist on the Epidemic Intelligence Unit. This experience ignited my passion for public health. It was really cool to see everyone working together at all these different levels — from individuals to local, state, and federal governments, to businesses and religious leaders — to improve the health of everybody. And everyone at PIH was just incredible
And so, I decided to get my MPH at BUSPH and from there learned more about environmental health, learning about how water quality, air quality, heat exposure, and all these different environmental aspects of our lives impact health.
That led me to the Center for Climate and Health, and to a research fellowship with the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. There, I conducted two studies in Rocky Mountain National Park, combining my training in epidemiology and environmental health, with my love of nature and National Parks.
So, now you have graduated from BUSPH with your MPH. What are you thinking about doing next?
At PIH what we did was “Actionable Intelligence”, so it wasn’t typical academic research, rather it was gathering information that we could quickly give to policymakers and that we could implement ourselves immediately to respond to how COVID-19 was changing and understanding how different dynamics, like ventilation, were altering transmission routes. I really liked doing that work, working directly with individuals, hospitals, and other groups to contain outbreaks of infectious disease. And the work I did last summer in Rocky Mountain National Park was similar in that I presented our findings to the park this past February and my recommendations are already implemented, improving visitor safety and health for this summer. So, I really like doing work that can have an immediate impact. Currently, I’m looking for a new position where I can combine my actionable research skills with implementation of public health solutions. Many of the roles I have been looking at are local epidemiologist jobs, working for local or state or hospital systems in San Francisco. I hope to continue working in infectious disease, global, or environmental health, doing on the ground, actionable public health work.
Congratulations on recently winning the Innovative Practicum Award! How did you come up with the idea of applying a public health lens to working in Rocky Mountain National Park? Was there any specific experience that sparked your idea about working with Search and Rescue?
It started when I took a GIS course at BUSPH, and for the final project we had to find a dataset of interest and analyze it. I came across search and rescue data in Yosemite National Park, from a previous study, and it really piqued my interest. Then I came across the RMNP fellowship, which is open to graduate students in any discipline. I reached out to rangers at the park and asked what their needs were and how I could help advance public health or safety. They suggested search and rescue as a priority area for them. They wanted help understanding whether their preventative search and rescue efforts were effective and how to better support at-risk visitors. I already had a background in this area, and the project aligned with my skills in GIS, data collection, and statistical analysis.
One of the papers from the fellowship, currently under review, is a retrospective analysis of search and rescue incidents in Rocky Mountain National Park from 2018 to 2024. We looked at trends over time and contributing factors. For example, earlier reports identified insufficient information and preparation as major contributors to rescues. Since then, the park has implemented preventative search and rescue efforts, things like trailhead volunteers, signage, and website messaging, and we found those contributing factors have declined. That suggests these efforts are having a real impact.
The second paper, which we’ll be submitting soon, focuses on a wilderness field survey I administered. Last summer I was on the trails for three months surveying hikers and trail runners, asking about their demographics, experience levels and items they were carrying (among many other questions) to determine how prepared they were. The goal was to identify who might be most at risk and how factors like age, experience, and activity type influence preparedness. One of the key findings was the need for more rangers and resources, which comes down to increasing funding and support for our national parks.