SCEHSC Seminar with Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD

Guest Speaker: Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD

Title: Heterogeneous Health Effects of Compound Climate Hazards

Date: November 3rd 2023

The impacts of specific climate-sensitive exposures (CSE) on population health have been well documented in the US. However, while most of the available epidemiological evidence focused on single CSE, there is an emerging literature highlighting the importance of considering compounded impacts in the context of climate change. In this talk, we will discuss the synergistic effects of multiple CSE including extreme heat, tropospheric ozone or wildfire smoke PM2.5 and the environmental justice implications of such compounded impacts in California.

As an environmental and social epidemiologist, Dr. Benmarhnia’s work focuses on applying or developing causal inference methods to understand how environmental and social determinants affect population health and equity in the context of climate change but also what strategies are effective at minimizing such impacts. He finished his PhD in epidemiology jointly from the University of Montreal and Paris Sud and a post-doctoral position at McGill University with the Institute for Health and Social Policy. He is currently an associate professor in Epidemiology and is leading the Climate Change Epidemiology lab, an interdisciplinary research group that includes 25 graduate trainees (in epidemiology, global health or atmospheric sciences), postdoctoral fellows and research staff.