PL

Prof Adelaide Lusambili

American University

ORCID iD 0000-0001-8174-7963

About

HEALTH SYSTEMS |CLIMATE CHANGE AND LIFE COURSE/ CODESIGN /CO-CREATION | POLICY ENGAGEMENT | MENTAL HEALTH| GRANT REVIEWER/WRITING

I am a medical anthropologist, climate and mental health scientist, and educator examining how a warming planet shapes human health across the life course, from pregnancy and newborn health to adolescence, ageing, and mental wellbeing.

My work combines rigorous climate and health science with the lived realities of communities facing environmental change, exploring how heat, flooding, inequality, and fragile systems shape everyday experiences of care, survival, and wellbeing. What I value most is the bridge between evidence and lived experience: turning numbers into stories people recognise, and stories into evidence the world cannot ignore.

I am Professor and Lead of the Environmental Health and Governance (EHAG) Centre at Africa International University, and Founder of NextGen for Earth, mentoring the next generation of African climate and health leaders to move beyond science into community action, policy engagement, and locally grounded climate solutions.

I lead the HEARTH Study on heat exposure and maternal-newborn health, the ACACIA Study on climate and adolescent wellbeing, and the SENIORS Consortium on heat and flooding among ageing populations. I also serve as Co-Principal Investigator on the IDRC/AMREF Climate Research Consortium strengthening Africa's pipeline of early-career climate scientists, and previously served as Kenya Lead for the CHAMNHA Consortium on maternal and newborn health.

I have led or co-led more than 23 studies across Africa and the United Kingdom, contributed evidence to global climate policy discussions from COP26 to COP29, and seen this work featured in Science (AAAS), The New York Times, National Geographic, and BBC London, and discussed in interview on BBC Radio 4.

Beyond research, I contribute to global health science through editorial board membership, scientific advisory roles, and research grant review for major international funding bodies. I serve on the editorial boards of BMC Global and Public Health and Frontiers in Public Health.

Employment

Employment history is unavailable.

Education

  • American University MA and PHD
    2002 - 2008

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (80)