Human and Planetary Health
Banner photo courtesy of imagesofempowerment.com
Banner photo courtesy of imagesofempowerment.com
We believe that, without a healthy biosphere, there is no human future. Climate change and other environmental challenges are creating a health crisis of planetary dimension, with impacts falling disproportionately on vulnerable and historically marginalized populations.
We’re committed to advancing human and planetary health — a field that brings together perspectives from environmental sciences, public health, systems thinking, and other disciplines to achieve breakthroughs and find solutions for a healthier world, on which humans can thrive. We are proud to support the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health. This center is a joint effort of the Woods Institute for the Environment at the Doerr School of Sustainability and the Center for Innovation in Global Health at the School of Medicine.
Read on to learn more about our center’s programs and projects related to human and planetary health.
We empower research aimed at human and ecosystem health through interdisciplinary and community-based collaboration. We provide seed grants, host research convenings, train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and partner on projects that integrate ecology, environment, health, and equity.
Through an interdisciplinary, systems-thinking lens, we support the next generation of health professionals and providers, scholars, policymakers, and other practitioners to better understand an interconnected set of challenges – and think creatively about how to solve them.
We accelerate action through policy development, strategic communications, and community-engaged solutions. We support faculty in developing strategies for moving their work to impact, convening key stakeholders, and drafting foundational policy and communications materials.
Climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes are creating new disease patterns, threats to mental health, malnutrition, and safety risks. These unprecedented challenges impact communities across the world – especially lower-income settings. Health professionals need new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and advocacy to respond. We have curated resources to support health professionals in taking action for human and planetary health — in the clinic and beyond. This includes Medicine for a Changing Planet, a joint project with the University of Washington that develops human and planetary health case studies for medical students and clinicians. CME credit now available!
Science Writing Advancing Planetary Health (SWAP) leverages Stanford expertise and faculty-student teams to develop evidence-based strategies, partnerships, and messaging to influence policy and grassroots actions that protect people and the planet. This competitively awarded independent study opportunity pairs Stanford students with faculty to develop strategic communications resources in support of human and planetary health objectives. With the support of SWAP, students work with faculty to develop theories of change, identify key stakeholders, and design strategic communications projects to achieve meaningful impact.
A selection of seed grants from CIGH and the Woods Institute for the Environment support solutions-oriented research on human & planetary health challenges, including CIGH Global Health Seed Grants, Woods Institute Environmental Ventures Projects, and Human and Planetary Health Early-Career Development Awards.
The Stanford/London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Human & Planetary Health Postdoctoral Fellowship fosters the professional development of a new generation of researchers committed to protecting health on a changing planet. We co-manage this program with the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health.
The human & planetary health crisis requires new thinking and bold leadership. These courses explore health adaptations to the climate crisis, how public health and environmental justice are intertwined, and how health considerations can inform environmental action – preparing students for careers in global health, environmental science, policy, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategic communications, and activism.
Plastic pollution poses a critical global health challenge, infiltrating water, air, and soil with microplastics and nanoplastics that threaten One Health. The Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health has formed a multidisciplinary working group that aims to identify knowledge gaps and develop evidence-based and nature-inspired solutions to mitigate the health impacts of plastic pollution—locally at Stanford, across California, and on a global scale.
Stanford Climate and Health is a student-driven advocacy group that provides a space for the Stanford community to take action on climate change, planetary and environmental health, and sustainable health care by engaging in advocacy, education, dialogue, and research.
We are committed to community-engaged research and action, collaborating with the Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) and the School of Medicine’s Climate, Health, and Equity Task Force to involve community voices in defining research priorities and accelerate on-the-ground partnerships.
Together with Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment and Doerr School of Sustainability, we support the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health to drive solutions-oriented research, train future leaders, accelerate global impact, and build the human and planetary health community at Stanford.
