Image: Mathilde Rusticucci, Ollie Jay, Ian Hamilton, Niheer Dasandi, Jeremy Hess, Nadia Ameli, and Wenjia Cai stand together in the BMA courtyard at the Lancet Countdown 2024 annual meeting

As we enter a new phase of increased ambition, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change has appointed the first of our new Working Group Co-Chairs to steer our academic activities. A warm welcome to Ollie Jay, Matilde Rusticucci, Jeremy Hess, Ian Hamilton, Wenjia Cai, Nadia Ameli, and Niheer Dasandi!

These established academic leaders will guide the direction of the Lancet Countdown’s research within their field of study, and inform a health-centred approach to global action on climate change. In this new phase, each Working Group Co-Chair team will be composed of at least one researcher from a low- and middle-income country (LMIC).

Find out more about the appointed Working Group Co-Chairs

Working Group 1: Health hazards, exposures and impacts

Prof Ollie Jay

Ollie Jay is Director of the Heat and Health Research Centre in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, and currently holds a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator grant. He has led several large-scale projects that have directly influenced international public health heatwave policies internationally. He has also led extreme heat policy development for Sports Medicine Australia, Tennis Australia (Australian Open), and Cricket Australia. In 2021, he co-led the Series on Heat and Health in The Lancet.

Prof Matilde Rusticucci

Matilde Rusticucci is emeritus professor at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), principal researcher at the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), and former director of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences of the UBA. Her main expertise is on Atmospheric Sciences, Extreme climate variability events, and Climate Change. She participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 4th, 5th and 6th Assessment Reports as coordinator lead author, lead author, and Review editor, respectively. She is a member of numerous World Meteorological Organization expert teams and one World Health Organization advisory group. She is also an appointed member at the Argentine Academy of Environmental Sciences.

Working Group 2: Adaptation, planning, and resilience for health

Prof Jeremy Hess

Jeremy Hess is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Global Health and Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington. He serves as the director of the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE). He has an MD and an MPH in global environmental health and is residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine.

Working Group 3: Mitigation and health co-benefits

Prof Ian Hamilton

Ian Hamilton is Professor of Energy, Environment and Health the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources at UCL. His research focuses on the nexus of climate change, energy and health in the built environment. Ian is Co-Investigator on the UKRI/EU funded Climate Action to Advance Healthy Societies in Europe (CATALYSE). He is a member of the UN Environment Programme Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction initiative. Ian has a extensive publication record in energy, health and climate mitigation in the built environment.

Working Group 4: Economics and finance

Prof Wenjia Cai

Wenjia Cai is professor of global change economics and also assistant to Dean in Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, China. Her research group is particularly focusing on the health and economic impacts of climate action. She is the director of The Lancet Countdown Regional Centre for Asia and leads the China Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change. She also serves as the member of Global Air Pollution and Health – Technical Advisory Group of the World Health Organization, and Member of Executive Editorial Board of Environmental Research Letters.

Prof Nadia Ameli

Nadia Ameli is a Professor of Climate Finance at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. She has extensive experience in the economic, financial, and policy aspects of climate change and related energy issues. Her work explores the cross-cutting role of finance in the global transition to a low-carbon economy, with a particular emphasis on avenues for integrating finance elements into climate policy design to trigger investment growth.

Working Group 5: Public and political engagement

Prof Niheer Dasandi

Niheer Dasandi is Professor in Politics and Development and Director of Research in the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham. His research looks at the politics of international development, focusing in particular on the relationship between human rights and development; examining states’ foreign policy preferences in international politics; and the health dimensions of climate change.

Stay tuned for news of the final co-chair appointments!