Bio
I am an Assistant Professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego.
My research combines epidemiology and computational science to understand the relationships between climate variability and human disease in order to inform:
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how climate change may impact disease risk in the future and
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how climate information can be utilized to improve early warning disease prediction systems.
I am deeply passionate about teaching and mentoring and committed to training the next generation of global health leaders to protect human health and well-being from climate change and other environmental hazards.
My current projects aim to identify key hydrometeorological drivers of communicable and noncommunicable diseases of global and domestic importance, with particular focus on fungal diseases.
Positions
Assistant Professor
University of California San Diego
Herbert Wetheim School of Public Health and Longevity Sciences
2021 - 2023
Lecturer
University of California, Berkeley
School of Public Health
Division of Environmental Health Sciences
2023 - present
2019 - 2023
Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, Berkeley
School of Public Health
Division of Environmental Health Sciences
Advisor: Justin V. Remais, PhD
Education
2014 - 2019
Columbia University, PhD
Environmental Health Sciences
Mailman School of Public Health
Climate and Health Program
2010 - 2014
Stanford University, BA
Human Biology
Select Publications
Heaney, AK; Camponuri, SK; Head, JR; Collender, P; Weaver, A; Sondermeyer-Cooksey, G; Yu, A; Vugia, Duc; Jain, S; Bhattachan, A; Taylor, J; Remais, JV. Coccidioidomycosis seasonality in California: a longitudinal surveillance study of the climate determinants and spatiotemporal variability of seasonal dynamics, 2000-2021. The Lancet Regional Health - Americas. 38: 100864 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100864
Head, JR; Sondermeyer-Cooksey, G; Heaney, AK; T Yu, Alexander; Jones, I; Bhattachan, A; Campo, SK; Wagner, R; Mgbara, W; Phillips, S; Keeney, N; Taylor, J; Eisen, E; Lettenmaier DP; Hubbard, A; Okin, GO; Vugia, DJ; Jain, S; Remais, JV. (2022) Effects of Precipitation, Heat, and Drought on Incidence and Expansion of Coccidioidomycosis in Western USA: a Longitudinal Surveillance Study. The Lancet Planetary Health. 6(10) DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00202-9
Heaney, AK*; Stowell, J*; Liu, J; Marlier, M; Basu, R; Kinney, P. (2022) Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter from Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California. GeoHealth. 6(6). DOI: 10.1029/2021GH000578
*co-first authors
Heaney, AK; Head, JR; Broen, K; Click, K; Taylor, J; Balmes, J; Zelner, J; Remais, JV. (2021) Coccidioidomycosis and COVID-19 Co-Infection, United States, 2020. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 27(5). DOI: 10.3201/eid2705.204661.
Cheng, Q*; Collender, P*; Heaney, AK*; Li, X; Dasan, R; Li, C; Lewnard, JA; Zelner, J; Liang, S; Chang, H; Waller, LA; Lopman, BA; Changhong, Y; Remais, JV. (2020) The DIOS framework for optimizing infectious disease surveillance: numerical methods for simulation and multi-objective optimization of surveillance network architectures. PLoS Computational Biology. 16(12): e1008477. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008477
*co-first authors
Heaney, AK; Alexander, K; Shaman, J. (2019) El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Under-5 Diarrhea in Botswana. Nature Communications. 10, 5798. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13584-6
Heaney, AK; Alexander, K; Shaman, J. (2019) Ensemble Forecast and Parameter Inference of Childhood Diarrhea in Chobe District, Botswana. Epidemics. DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2019.100372
Heaney, AK; Carrión, D; Burkhart, K; Lesk, C; Jack, DW. (2019) Climate change and physical activity: Estimated impacts of ambient temperature on bikeshare usage in New York City. Environmental Health Perspectives. 127(3). DOI: 10.1289/EHP4039
Recent Media Coverage
New York Times, July, 2024
SF Chronicle, Sep, 2024
How Our Bodies Can Adapt to Heat
Death Valley keeps getting hotter. How do residents survive?
Washington Post, July, 2024
The Hill, Sep, 2024