Influential Environmental Health Experts Dominate TIME’s Global Health Influencers List in 2024

In 2024, two prominent members of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health were recognized by TIME as among the 100 individuals who most influenced global health. Francesca Dominici and Ronnie Levin were both featured in the category “Catalysts,” highlighting their impact, innovation, and achievement in the field of health.

Francesca Dominici, who is the Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science and the faculty director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative, was recognized for her work in combating air pollution. Her research has brought attention to the health risks associated with fine particulate (PM2.5) pollution, which is produced by vehicle exhaust, power plants, wildfires, and other sources. Time quoted a spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency praising Dominici’s groundbreaking work and crediting it with influencing the agency’s decision to lower permissible concentrations of PM2.5 from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

Ronnie Levin, an instructor at Harvard Chan School, was honored for her research on lead exposure. Her work contributed to an EPA proposal requiring the replacement of all lead pipes in the United States within a decade. A cost-benefit analysis conducted by Levin and her colleague Joel Schwartz in 2023 showed that reducing lead in drinking water could save the U.S. billions of dollars annually in health benefits and infrastructure costs. Levin expressed excitement about the EPA’s proposed rule but emphasized the importance of good implementation and enforcement for the initiative to be successful.

Both Dominici and Levin have made significant contributions to public health through their research, influencing policy decisions and public awareness on important environmental issues such as air pollution and lead exposure that have far reaching consequences for populations around the world