# Center for Extreme Conditions and Health Excellence (CECHE)

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2024 · $3,930,562

## Abstract

OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Center for Climate and Health
Equity (CECHE) unites multi-disciplinary researchers including cutting edge climate scientists with
epidemiologists, physicians, exposure and data scientists, community engagement scholars, urban planners
and health policy experts to advance cutting-edge climate health research. These interdisciplinary teams are
critical in identifying innovative solutions to promote equity and address climate change threats in urban areas.
CECHE's vision is to use team science and a cumulative impacts framework to advance innovative solutions-
based research and policies to combat climate health inequity and fulfill its mission of responding to priorities of
the most vulnerable environmental justice (EJ) communities in Chicago, the nation, and beyond. The center’s
initial research theme “nature-based solutions for mitigating adverse climate health impacts in Chicago and
beyond” is in direct response to community partner priorities. As a minority-serving institution, ranked 13th
among top public universities and 8th in social mobility, UIC is an ideal institution to establish CECHE and
promote diverse perspectives into climate change and health research. The Administrative Core (AC) will
provide overall management and evaluation of the Center's activities. An internal advisory committee, external
advisory committee, and community advisory board will govern the AC. The AC will also support
communication across the center, support career advancement, and create a pilot project program to
accelerate innovative climate and health research. The Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC)
will use an iterative process for capacity building and identification of climate solutions working in collaboration
with community EJ partners, healthcare providers, and policymakers. Using a train-the-trainer model, COEC
will also establish a Climate Health Institute to build capacity and train community health ambassadors within
EJ communities. COEC leaders, with EJ partners, will also conduct innovative urban health design studies to
create nature-based toolkits for promoting health benefits of green infrastructure (GI) and policy development
at local, regional, and national levels. The Geospatial Data Analysis Core (GDAC) will build a highly resolved
spatiotemporal data architecture linking GI with environmental factors (PM2.5, O3, heat, flooding), electronic
health records, and different types of nature-based GI features across multiple spatial and temporal scales,
advancing multidisciplinary nature-based research. These scales include satellite imagery of tree canopy, the
normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and Google Street View with land use and cover data. The
Research Project will examine how features of urban GI 1) impact air quality and heat islands, 2) mitigate
flooding, and 3) influence cardio-respiratory outcomes such as hospitalizations and ED/ER visits in Chica...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10981084
- **Project number:** 1P20MD019989-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristen Mary Chossek Malecki
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $3,930,562
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-21 → 2027-09-20

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10981084

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10981084, Center for Extreme Conditions and Health Excellence (CECHE) (1P20MD019989-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10981084. Licensed CC0.

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