December 16 Webinar – From Global to Local: What does Planetary Health mean for me?

Let’s Talk Climate Series

Thursday, December 16, 2021  |   2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST

Just in Q4 of 2021, we saw the launch of the Sao Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health, The Lancet Countdown 2021 report, and COP 26. All of these initiatives are framed at a global scale and highlight the urgent need for climate & planetary health solutions that eliminate carbon emissions, restore natural systems and center justice & equity. So what does this mean for our neighborhoods and communities, and how can we use these frameworks for bold action in 2022? Join this special episode of Let’s Talk Climate, co-hosted with the Planetary Health Alliance, to find out.

Speaker Bios:

Marie Studer, PhD is the Senior Program Manager for the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her career has focused on public accessibility and understanding of science through government and public policy positions, to scientific and education leadership for international citizen science projects, to engaging formal and informal educators and youth in biodiversity learning using hands-on and online resources and tools. She is especially interested in creating awareness of and action around the planetary health framework to address the UN SDGs and other international targets focused on a regenerative society where all people can thrive.

Melody Wu is an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) majoring in Biological Engineering and minoring in environment & sustainability and design. She is broadly interested in the intersection of immunology, synthetic biology, and cell communication and response. During her time at MIT, she has conducted research in the Shalek Lab for single-cell omics as well as in synthetic biology engineering immune cell swarms as part of the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) 2019 team, has worked in the Weiss Lab optimizing mammalian genetic expression through engineering promoters and using machine learning models to evaluate mammalian genetic circuit design. Interested in thinking about linking biological things across scales, besides thinking about cells and how they interact with each other, she is deeply interested in thinking about how bioengineering tools can be scaled up for public health, global health, and to empower communities. Outside of research in the lab, she’s deeply involved in the MIT BioMakers, MIT Global Health Alliance, the Planetary Health Alliance, After iGEM, Terrascope, and her living communities, French House and iHouse.