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:

how climate change may impact disease risk in the future and
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

See all publications

Learn more about my research