Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Dennis Guignet has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study The Effects of Toxic Air Pollution and Climate Change on Maternal and Child Health: A Scoping Study of Vulnerable Communities and Research Needs.
This NSF award is part of the NSF's Analytics for Equity Initiative, which supports social, economic, and behavioral sciences research that leverages federal data assets and scientific advances in researching equity-related topics for greater public benefit.
The work will be conducted by Dr. Guignet and Dr. Maggie Sugg, an associate professor in the Department of Geography and Planning, in partnership with the NSF and United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The researchers will conduct a pilot study and propose a broader research agenda. They will examine the independent and interactive effects of toxic air pollutants and heatwaves on newborn and maternal health in North Carolina and assess whether any adverse effects are systematically different across regions of the state and socioeconomic groups.
