Workshop in Population Health Impacts from Climate Extremes and Climatic Factors

This two-day workshop offers a focused exploration of how climate extremes and climatic factors influence population health. Participants will gain insight into epidemiological and biostatistical methods applicable to climate-health research, developing strong methodological foundations to apply in their own work.

Application

• The workshop is free to attend and covers all sessions.
• An intermediate knowledge of R is required.
• Priority will be given to participants residing in Sweden, but applications from outside Sweden are welcome.
• Application Deadline: 20 June 2025
• Workshop dates: 1-2 October 2025 

Description

• Two day workshop focused on epidemiological and biostatistical methods to investigate how climate extremes and climate factors influence population health. 
• Participants will learn:

  • 1) the current evidence of the impact of climate extremes on health,
  • 2) why it is important to study this topic,
  • 3) how to identify, measure, and model the health effects of environmental stressors, gaining a strong methodological foundation to apply in their own research. 

• The workshop is organized and founded by the Swedish Center of Impacts from Climate Extremes In collaboration with the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet.

Tentative schedule

Day 1

• Morning (09:00–12:00)

  • Lecture (09:00–09:50): Overview of Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate
    Speaker: Gabriele Messori
  • Lecture (09:50–10:40): Impacts of Climate Extremes on Population Health
    Speaker: Elena Raffetti
  • Coffee break (10:40–11:00)
  • Lecture (11:00–11:30): Availability of Climatic Data
    Speaker: Shivang Pandey
  • Lecture (11:30–12:00): Linking Climate Data with Health Data
    Speaker: Alexia Sampri

• Afternoon (13:00–16:00)
  • Hands-on Lab Exercise (13:00–16:00) Preparing geospatial dataLinking geospatial data to health data
    Led by: Shivang Pandey, Alexia Sampri

Day 2

• Afternoon (9:00–12:00)

  • Lecture (09:00–10:00): Modeling Associations Between Climatic Factors & Health Outcomes Using Aggregated-Level Data
    Speaker: Blanca Paniello Castillo
  • Hands-on Lab Exercise (10:00–12:00)
    Led by: Blanca Paniello Castillo, Ricardo Berenguer Navarro, Elena Raffetti
    Practical examples of aggregated-level data analysis

• Afternoon (13:00–16:00)

  • Lecture (13:00–14:00): Modeling Associations Between Climatic Factors & Health Outcomes Using Individual-Level Data
    Speakers: Isabel Walter,
  • Hands-on Lab Exercise (14:00–16:00) Led by: Isabel Walter, Manuel Martellini O Nocentini, Elena Raffetti
    Examples of individual-level modeling (case time series, Cox models)

Application details

General

• Application Requirements

  1. Fill out the application form.
  2. Provide a brief motivation letter outlining your current position, research interests, and reasons for taking this course.

• Selection Criteria

  1. Relevance of motivation to the course scope.
  2. Potential benefit for the applicant’s research.
  3. Timeliness for the applicant’s career development.

Required applicant details

• Name, surname and affiliation
• Contact details
• Career stage (master student, doctoral student, postdoc, research assistant)
• A brief motivation (max 1 page) for attending the course
• A letter from your doctoral supervisor, postdoctoral advisor, or another senior scientist you are working with or have recently worked with that they are supporting the participation to the course.

Target group

• PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and research assistants (particularly those residing in Sweden).
• Suitable for diverse backgrounds: medical, social, climate, and data sciences.
• Participants completing a Master’s degree or working in related fields are also encouraged to apply.
• Intermediate R skills are essential for hands-on exercises.

Organizing Team

• Workshop leader Elena Raffetti (Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institutet)
  Deputy director of the Swedish Center of Impacts of Climate Extremes. Medical doctor with expertise in health data science, focusing on socio-environmental extreme events and working with large-scale population data.
• Workshop co-leader Gabriele Messori (Professor Uppsala University)
  Director of the Swedish Center of Impacts of Climate Extremes; studies past, present, and future climate extremes and their impacts.
• Shivang Pandey (PhD Student, Karolinska Institutet)
  Geospatial data scientist working optimizing climate-health biostatistical methods.
• Alexia Sampri (Reserch Associate, University of Cambridge)
  Background in health data science and environmental engineering, with research on population health outcomes, mainly focused on cardiovascular diseases, using whole-population health data.
• Isabel Walter (PhD Student, Karolinska Institutet)
  Background in medicine and epidemiology, researching the health impact of non-optimal air temperatures on impacts at individual level.
• Manuel Martellini O Nocentini (PhD Student, Karolinska Institutet)
  Background in statistics, researching the impact of climate extremes and climatic factors during early life.
• Blanca Paniello Castillo (PhD Student, ISGlobal Barcelona)
  Background in biomedical sciences and epidemiology, studying socio-economic drivers of temperature-related mortality in Europe.
• Ricardo Berenguer Navarro (PhD Student, Karolinska Institutet
  Background in biostatistics, researching the future risks of climate extremes and climatic factors on population health.
• Edoardo Pavoni (Project Coordinator, Karolinska Institutet)
  Provides organizational support for the workshop.
• Sakıp Murat Yalçın (Project Coordinator, Climes, Uppsala Universitet)
  Provides organizational support for the workshop-

Contact

• For more information about the application process, schedule, or any other inquiries, please contact:
  elena.raffetti@ki.se (Workshop leader)
  edoardo.pavoni@ki.se (Workshop Coordination Support)
  sakip_murat.yalcin@geo.uu.se (Climes Project Coordinator)