Dr. John F. Pearson Secures $50k 1U4U Innovation Funding Seed Grant

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. John F. Pearson, alongside his colleague from the Department of Biology, has received a prestigious 1U4U Innovation Funding Seed Grant for $50,000 for his project titled, "Heat and Healing: The Influence of Urban Heat Islands on Postoperative Outcomes." This research aims to investigate how climate change, particularly extreme heat events (EHEs), impacts postoperative recovery, especially among vulnerable populations.

Climate change poses the greatest health threat of the 21st century, with EHEs being a significant manifestation of this global challenge. While EHEs are linked to adverse cardiopulmonary and renal outcomes, their influence on surgical recoveries remains under-explored. Dr. Pearson’s project will address this gap by using a Bayesian lag model to assess the impact of EHEs on postoperative outcomes. The study leverages a cohort of 250,000 patients with street-level geocoded data and a comprehensive heat model for Salt Lake City.

This innovative research is a collaborative effort, involving Assistant Professor Jon Wang from the Department of Biology, who will assist in producing the heat islands and identifying the heat events. The project exemplifies how interdisciplinary collaboration can bridge climate and health sciences, fostering essential advancements in urban sustainability.

Dr. Pearson extends his gratitude to Drs. Talmage Egan, Ken B. Johnson, and the VPCAT team for their ongoing support. We are immensely proud of Dr. Pearson’s work in bridging the fields of climate science and medicine, and we look forward to the impactful findings this study will yield.