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Professor Ilias Kavouras and colleagues were awarded a $41,000 CUNY Research Foundation and Mount Sinai P30 pilot grant for their project, “Use of the Realtime and Historical ‘Floodnet’ Data to Determine the Impact of Flooding on the Surge of Acute Respiratory Illnesses in the Specific Densely Populated Flood Prone New York City Communities in 1 Year.”
The project is a collaboration between Dr. Kavouras, Icahn School of Medicine Associate Professor Ismail Nabeel and Brooklyn College Associate Professor Brett Branco. The team will study the coupling between severe weather and disasters with the acute respiratory illnesses in densely populated urban communities.
“With vaccines for respiratory borne illnesses readily available, it’s imperative to understand the modifiable risk factors, specific to climate change to reduce the incidence of acute respiratory illnesses after the hurricane or flooding events,” says Kavouras.
The study will analyze recent and historical urban flood incidents in New York City in relation to weather conditions, urban architecture, and population characteristics to describe community flood risk and respiratory illnesses morbidity indicators and taking into account population demographic and health characteristics.
“We hope to better understand the relationship between weather, urban environment, population dynamics and respiratory health and develop a model to predict risk and guide preparedness, response and mitigation in vulnerable communities in New York City,” Kavouras says.
The study will provide opportunities for CUNY SPH graduate students to work together with scientists in Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay.
