Connecting cross-disciplinary research, education, and communication to build resilient, healthy communities
The Center for Climate and Environmental Health was founded at Rice in 2026 with generous funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund as the sole recipient (out of 161 applicants) of a $10 million Climate + Health Excellence Center, a consortium grant with Baylor College of Medicine and UTHealth Houston, to execute a research, education, and outreach project called FORECAST: Forecasting Health Outcomes through Research, Education, Climate Action, and Sustainability for Texas.
Solving the climate-health literacy gap requires new discovery and broad education. While there are many areas of climate-health research and activity, FORECAST begins with infectious disease. Critical research gaps remain at the intersection of climate change, pathogens, and human health.
Houston- with its diversity, density, climate vulnerability, and existing long-term data collection efforts- is an ideal testbed for climate and health mapping, intervention, and solutions. Our partners in public health and the Texas Medical Center have the reach, infrastructure, and data. Rice has the research power and community partnerships. The Center for Climate and Environmental Health seeks to position Houston as a national leader in urban climate change and environmental resilience. We in Houston can provide critical lessons from the Gulf as a model urban hub for the impacts of climate change in low-lying coastal zones in the subtropics, where, globally, the highest development rates are occurring.
FORECAST will generate integrated data, innovative detection technologies, new models. multidisciplinary educational practices, and effective communication strategies. FORECAST has a strong head start. Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, and UTHealth Houston have united, each bringing expertise that bridges the discovery divide.