Ian Brooks, research scientist and director of the Center for Health Informatics (CHI), has received a 16-month, $1.2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to study the effects of climate on health in the state. Partners on the project include the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and University of Illinois System Office of Strategic Initiatives. The goal of the new project is to support the IDPH and local health departments in understanding and preparing for changes in climate and extreme weather events.
According to Brooks, CHI will work with NCSA to develop an informatics platform to integrate and display population health data from IDPH, weather data from the Illinois State Climatology office, and "multiple other datatypes, including social determinants of health, air and water quality, vector distribution, and land use/land cover."
"We will also develop predictive models for local and state health departments to aid in their planning and provide results for public presentation and education," he said.
Brooks' research interests include public and global health informatics, epidemiology, cyberinfrastructure, data analytics, and One Health. He holds a PhD in biochemistry from Bryn Mawr College.
The Illinois Center for Health Informatics (CHI) promotes positive local and global health outcomes through research innovation. It is a home for multidisciplinary research teams to work with the broader health community to enhance impact on health through the advanced management, analysis, and representation of data and information.