Wildfires, Health Effects and Solution (WHES, 2026-2031, role: PI)

Wildfire pollution continues to be more common and intense, posing increasingly serious public health concerns in California. This project investigates the complex interactions between wildfire smoke, human behavioural responses, and health risks for pregnant women and their infants, and evaluate innovative solutions to mitigate wildfire smoke and protect these vulnerable populations. Findings support evidence-based policies and guide interventions to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women and children. This project is funded by the National Institute of Health, and is conducted in collaboration with Buffalo University, Baylor University and the Central California Asthma Collaborative.

HEAT--Health Equity and Adaptation to Extreme Temperature (2025-2028; role: PI)

Increasing temperatures and extreme heat pose major health risks in Kern County,CA, particularly for individuals with low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, outdoor workers, older adults, children, and student athletes. Understanding and mitigating risks is critical for this region. Funded by the California Air Resources Board, the primary objective of the study is to assess the health-related impacts of a community-agreed upon heat adaptation strategy (i.e. cooling centers) among disparate populations at greatest risk from health disparities, including low-income, older adults, and racial and ethnic minorities in Kern County. The project uses a mixed methods approaching involving both large population-based data analyses and ground-truthing. It is conducted in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University together with community partners in Kern County.

San Joaquin Valley Center for Community Air Assessment and Injustice Reduction (SJV CC-AIR) (2022-; role: Co-PI)

In partnership with the Stockton nonprofit organization Little Manila Rising, this 1.2M grant will address the health impacts of air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley. Specifically, the funds from the Automobile Emissions Research and Technology Fund grant will be used to launch a mobile air quality laboratory and health assessment clinic; deploy community air quality monitoring networks in Stockton and Fresno by installing 125 new PurpleAir monitors; and establish a permanent community-university air quality research and clinical center at UC Merced.

Click here for project website: https://healthyair.ucmerced.edu/ 

Air pollution health impact assessment (2022-2023, role: PI)

Funded by the City of Fresno, this project aims to assess the impacts of air pollution among Fresno residents. The utilizes two approaches: 1) link large population-based health datasets to air pollution data to estimate the impacts of air pollution on health across the lifespan; and 2) conduct a community survey to explore residents' knowledge, perception, attitude, needs, and health outcomes related to air pollution exposures.

Environmental risk factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes in California (2018 – 2026; role: PI )

California, especially the San Joaquin Valley, has many environmental issues including air pollution, pesticide use, extreme temperature events, and wildfire. Exposures to these environmental hazards have been linked to many health outcomes including cancer and cardiorespiratory complications in the general population.  However, few studies have simultaneously examined how these exposures (alone and in combination) affect pregnant women and the developing fetus. The overarching purpose of this study is to determine whether and how these environmental risk factors affect the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including low birthweight, preterm birth, and neonatal/infant death.

The project links environmental data from federal/state agencies to birth certificates of all babies delivered from 2005-2015 in the state of California (n > 5 million births).  Exposures among pregnancies with adverse outcomes are compared with those with healthy outcomes. We hypothesize that pregnancies that were exposed to higher environmental risk factors had higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Findings can potentially be used to device potentially novel strategies to minimize the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in high-risk areas. The project is led by Dr. Sandie Ha, and is funded by the University of California.

California Policy Lab: Data-Driven Solutions to California’s Most Complex Issues (2021 - 2024; role: Co-I)

Local and state governments are often at the cutting edge of innovative policymaking. Though they often collect substantial administrative data about their programs and the people they serve, they often lack the resources, data infrastructure, and rigorous research expertise they need to evaluate success and inform future policy decisions.  The CPL helps fill these gaps by bringing experts from the country’s top public universities and a secure platform for data and policy analysis. This project is funded by the UC Office of the President’s Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives.