Ilona Jaspers will be giving a talk in 1116 Derby Hall on Friday, April 17, 2026, titled "Leading at the Intersection: Climate, Health, and the Power of Convergence Science". Ilona is an Adjunct Professor at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Commissioner for the Environmental Management Commission (Raleigh, NC), and Founder of Science and Wisdom, LLC.
Abstract: The growing health impacts of climate change—rising temperatures, intensifying wildfires, vector-borne disease, and declining air and water quality—disproportionately affect low-income communities and people with pre-existing conditions, creating an urgent need for solutions-oriented research. The Byrd Center (BPCRC), with its unparalleled polar ice core archives, decades of field-based climate research, and global expertise in atmospheric and cryospheric science, is uniquely positioned to lead the next generation of climate–health discovery. Building on two decades of interdisciplinary leadership across academic, federal, and community settings, including directing the NIH-wide Center for Climate Change and Health and the Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology at UNC Chapel Hill, I propose a research vision organized around three thematic pillars: (1) Planetary Health, addressing biodiversity loss, infectious disease spillover, and emerging biogenic exposures; (2) Heat Stress and Biological Mechanisms, linking molecular and physiological heat responses to adaptation strategies informed by BPCRC’s long-term climate records; and (3) Air Quality and Environmental Exposures, using trapped gases and particulates in polar ice cores to reconstruct historical pollution and contextualize health impacts of wildfire smoke and climate-driven pollutants. By integrating BPCRC’s irreplaceable physical archives with advanced technologies—AI, genomics, exposure sensing, spatial modeling—and community-engaged research, this program will generate actionable, policy-relevant science to protect vulnerable populations. Through strategic partnerships and a strong training mission, BPCRC can emerge as a global leader at the intersection of polar science, climate research, and human health