BUSPH-HSPH Climate Change and Health Research Coordinating Center (CAFE)


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Continued climate change threatens the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the US and around the globe. With unprecedented support from the National Institutes of Health through a cooperative agreement, Boston University School of Public Health and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have joined forces to create the BUSPH-HSPH CAFÉ Research Coordinating Center (RCC). The RCC is a critical component of the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative and aims to build a Community of Practice by managing and supporting climate change and health research and capacity building efforts. The CAFÉ will Convene, Accelerate, Foster, and Expand the global climate change and health community of practice. To accelerate the translation of research into practical solutions, we will engage a diverse array of key stakeholders, including across government agencies, non-governmental and community-based organizations, industry, foundations, and potential funders.

The CAFÉ is jointly led by Drs. Greg Wellenius (BUSPH), Amruta Nori-Sarma (BUSPH), and Francesca Dominici (HSPH) and consists of 4 related functions.

  • The Administrative Function will be led by the team of principal investigators and will oversee all aspects of the CAFÉ, organize and host an annual meeting, and collaborate closely with partners at NIH, a steering committee, an external advisory board, and members of the newly funded NIH Alliance for Community Engagement.
  • The Data Management Function is co-led by Drs. Danielle Braun (HSPH) and Kevin Lane (BUSPH). The goal of the Data Management Function is to, in partnership with the Harvard Dataverse, Accelerate research by (1) identifying research data needs and defining common data elements across the community of practice; (2) developing and promoting data science and software tools for processing, linking, and analyzing data; (3) facilitating sharing and reuse of data; and (4) providing data management and dissemination guidance and cloud computing infrastructure to those who need it most.
  • The Resource Function is co-led by Dr. Benjamin Sovacool (BU IGS), Rebecca Pearl-Martinez (BU IGS), and Leila Kamareddine (HSPH). The goal of the Resource Function is to Foster collaborations across the Community of Practice (COP). To accomplish this goal, the Resource Function will: (1) facilitate communication, engagement, and sharing of resources within the COP; (2) stimulate co-production of new knowledge and ideas across the COP; and (3) promote timely dissemination and translation of COP advances into changes in policy and practice.
  • The Capacity Building Function is co-led by Dr. Patrick Kinney (BUSPH) and Rachel Nethery (HSPH). The goal of this function is to Expand the COP by achieving the following key objectives: (1) attract a diverse community of CCH scientists via inclusive education, training, and mentoring, (2) provide funding for pilot and time-sensitive projects; and (3) foster a multidisciplinary, global COP.
The CAFE Research Coordinating Center reflects a novel collaboration across the following institutions and the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative:

You can read more about the CAFÉ at both the BUSPH and Harvard press releases.