Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis
PhD, MSc, BSc (Honours)
Professor of Global Environmental Health
ANU College of Health and Medicine
T:
+61 2 6125 0657
Areas of expertise
- Public Health 4206
- Environmental Epidemiology 420203
- Occupational Epidemiology 420209
- Preventative Health Care 420605
- Climate Change Impacts And Adaptation 4101
- Human Impacts Of Climate Change And Human Adaptation 410103
- Environmental Assessment And Monitoring 410402
- Air Pollution Modelling And Control 401101
Research interests
Cclimate change adaptation, bushfires, air pollution, heat and health, urban health, sustainable development, exposure assessment, environmental epidemiology, occupational hygiene, environmental health policy, public health communication.
Biography
Sotiris Vardoulakis is inaugural Professor of Global Environmental Health and Director of the NHMRC Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network. He leads the Environment, Climate, and Health Group at the ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health.
Previously, Sotiris held a number of senior academic, civil service and consultancy positions in the UK. He was Director of Research and Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Occupational Health at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, Head of the Environmental Change Department, and of the Air Pollution and Climate Change Groups at Public Health England, and lecturer and course director at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Birmingham. He is currently Honorary Professor at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School, and Adjunct Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Sotiris co-founded and co-chaired the International Consortium for Urban Environmental Health and Sustainability (Healthy-Polis), and the Clean Environment and Planetary Health in Asia (CEPHA) network. He was one of the lead authors of the first UK Climate Change Risk Assessment and contributor to the National Adaptation Programme. He served as a member of the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK) Public Health Advisory Committee on Air Pollution, the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Group on Indoor Air Quality. He is a currently a Coordinating Lead Author of the UNEP Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-7) and of the WHO Climate Change and Urban Health Guide.
For more than 20 years, he has advised national and local governments and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, the European Parliament, the UK Government, and the Australian Department of Health, on the health effects of climate change, air pollution, and extreme events, and on sustainable development, health impact assessment, risk communication, and public health. Sotiris has been involved in numerous research projects, including field studies, environmental monitoring and modelling, epidemiology, risk assessment, evidence reviews, and policy analysis in Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
His main research interests include climate change adaptation, air pollution and health, sustainable cities, exposure assessment, environmental epidemiology, occupational hygiene, and public health communication and policy. He is Specialty Chief Editor (Health and Cities) for Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, and Associate Editor (Climate Change and Health) for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Sotiris frequently comments in the media (@SotirisVard).
Researcher's projects
- NHMRC Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, funded by the NHMRC Special Initiative in Human Health & Environmental Change, 2022-27.
- NHMRC Centre for Safe Air, funded by the NHMRC Centres Research Excellence, led by University of Tasmania, 2022-27.
- ARC Indigenous Discovery: Healing Country, led by University of Sydney, 2021-25.
- ARC Linkage Project: Promoting Active Travel and Public Transport for a post-pandemic world, led by University of Sydney, 2021-24.
- National Health and Climate Strategy: Climate and health policy expertise to support the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, 2023-24.
- National Climate Risk Assessment: Health & social system expertise to support CSIRO and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 2023.
- Clean Energy for Healthy Environments And Lives (CE4HEAL) Australia-India collaboration, 2021-24.
- International Consortium for Urban Environmental Health & Sustainability (Healthy-Polis), 2013-20.
- Clean Environment and Planetary Health in Asia (CEPHA), funded by UKRI, with the Indian Institute of Technology, 2019-23.
- Climate Emergencies and Health System Resilience (CHESS) collaborative research action, led by ANU and Kings College London, 2022-2023.
- Asthma Australia Advocacy & Translation Research Program: Air pollution advice for people with asthma, led by ANU and UTAS, 2022-24.
- Sustainable Urbanisation, funded by the Australian Centre on China in the World, led by ANU (Bai & Vardoulakis), 2021-23.
- Australia-India ‘Unnati’ Research Collaboration Grant: Clean Energy for Healthy Environments and Lives in India, led by ANU, 2023.
- National Foundation for Australia-China Relations: Research network on early warnings of infectious disease transmission in Australia & China led by QUT 2023-25.
- National Asthma Research Program Environmental Health Grant: Effective wood heater replacement policy, led by University of Tasmania, 2023-26.
- NSW Department of Planning & Environment: Evaluation of the effectiveness of air purification in reducing indoor air pollution and asthma deterioration in homes affected by wood heater smoke, led by ANU, 2023-25.
- NSW Department of Planning & Environment Smart Places Acceleration Program: Operational Network of Air Quality Impact Resources (OPENAIR), led by UTS, 2022-23.
- National Climate Change and Health Policy and Revised Action Plan for the Republic of Marshall Islands, funded by The Pacific Community, 2020-22.
- Air Quality Monitoring Research Facility for Emergency Response, funded by ANU, 2020.
- Air Quality Monitoring Research Facility for Emergency Response, funded by ANU, 2020.
- AIM-HEALTH: Effectiveness of Agricultural Interventions to minimise the health impacts of air pollution, funded by NIHR, led by IOM, 2020-24.
- Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), funded by the Wellcome Trust, led by UCL/LSHTM, 2018-22.
- Interventions to Improve Outdoor Air Quality: Rapid Evidence Assessments, funded by Public Health England, 2018.
- Indoor Air Pollution Exposure and Health: Systematic Literature Review, funded by Dyson, 2018-2019.
- Assessing the Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Thailand, MRC, led by IOM and MAHIDOL University, 2017-2020.
- EURO-HEALTHY: Shaping European Policies to Promote Health Equity. EU Horizon 2020, led by University of Coimbra, 2015-2018.
- National Institute for Health Research: Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change & Health. Healthy Sustainable Cities theme, 2014-2017
- Multi-country analysis of temperature-mortality associations from a climate change perspective, Medical Research Council funded, led by LSHTM, 2015-2018
- Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Partnership Development Fund, 2018.
- Perceptive assessment of health risks caused by climate change, air pollution and health co-benefits of low carbon transition in China, led by China CDC, 2015-16.
Available student projects
- Climate change and health
- Air pollution and health
- Planetary health
- Public health
- Urban health
- Sustainable cities
- Global environmental health
- Environmental pollution
- Sustainable development
- Environmental health policy
- Risk communication
Current student projects
- Cathy Etherington (ANU), Bushfire smoke effects on people with asthma.
- Lei Wan (ANU), Health and economic impact of air pollution in China.
- Pattheera Somboonsin (ANU), Health effects of pollution in the Asia-Pacific.
- Sara Haider (University of Sydney), Sustainable Urban Mobility.
- Pratika Chawala (University of Canberra), Air quality, physical activity and health.
- Sarup Das (Indian Institute of Technology Madras), Biomass burning, air quality, climate and health.
Past student projects
- Will Mueller (LSHTM), Pathways of urban greenspace to respiratory health: air pollution and physical activity (completed 2022)
- Katherine Arbuthnott (LSHTM),Temperature related effects on mortality and years of life lost in the UK for current and future climates (completed 2020)
- Sara Fenech (University of Edinburgh), Multiple air pollutants and their health impacts for both present-day and future scenarios (completed 2018)
- Clive Shrubsole (UCL), Changes in Exposure to PM2.5 in English Dwellings: an unintended consequence of energy efficient refurbishmentof the housing stock (completed 2017)
- Caroline Ochieng (LSHTM), Sustainable household energy in rural Kenya (completed 2013)
- Efisio Solazzo (University of Birmingham), Urban air quality modelling (completed 2008)
Publications
- Somboonsin, P, Vardoulakis, S & Canudas Romo, V 2023, 'A comparative study of life-years lost attributable to air particulate matter in Asia-Pacific and European countries', Chemosphere, vol. 338, pp. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139420
- Walsh, E, Sargent, G, Cevik-Compiegne, B et al. 2022, 'Bushfire Smoke and Children's Health-Exploring a Communication Gap', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 19.
- McClymont, H, Bambrick, H, Si, X et al. 2022, 'Future perspectives of emerging infectious diseases control: A One Health approach', One Health, vol. 14, no. 100371.
- Beggs, P, Zhang, Y, McGushin, A et al. 2022, 'The 2022 report of the MJA–Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Australia unprepared and paying the price', Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 217, no. 9, pp. 439-458.
- Heaviside, C, Witham, C & Vardoulakis, S 2021, 'Potential health impacts from sulphur dioxide and sulphate exposure in the UK resulting from an Icelandic effusive volcanic eruption', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 774, pp. 1-9.
- Mueller, W, Tantrakarnapa, K, Johnston, H et al. 2021, 'Exposure to ambient particulate matter and biomass burning during pregnancy: associations with birth weight in Thailand', Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, vol. 31, pp. 672ââ¬â682.
- Heaney, E, Hunter, L, Clulow, A et al. 2021, 'Efficacy of communication techniques and health outcomes of bushfire smoke exposure: A scoping review', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 20, pp. 1-14.
- Rodney Harris, R, Swaminathan, A, Calear, A et al. 2021, 'Physical and Mental Health Effects of Bushfire and Smoke in the Australian Capital Territory 2019�20', Frontiers in Public Health, vol. 9, p. 13.
- Mueller, W, Vardoulakis, S, Steinle, S et al. 2021, 'A health impact assessment of long-term exposure to particulate air pollution in Thailand', Environmental Research Letters, vol. 16, no. 5.
- Todkill, D, de Jesus Colon Gonzalez, F, Morbey, R et al. 2020, 'Environmental factors associated with general practitioner consultations for allergic rhinitis in London, England: A retrospective time series analysis', BMJ Open, vol. 10, no. 12.
- Santiago, J, Sanchez, B, Quaassdorf, C et al. 2020, 'Performance evaluation of a multiscale modelling system applied to particulate matter dispersion in a real traffic hot spot in Madrid (Spain)', Atmospheric Pollution Research, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 141-155.
- Mueller, W, Steinle, S, Parkka, J et al 2020, 'Urban greenspace and the indoor environment: Pathways to health via indoor particulate matter, noise, and road noise annoyance', Environmental Research, vol. 180, no. 108850, pp. 1-13.
- Lauriola, P, Crabbe, H, Behbod, B et al 2020, 'Advancing Global Health through Environmental and Public Health Tracking', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 1-19.
- Vardoulakis, S, Jalaludin, B, Morgan, G et al 2020, 'Bushfire smoke: urgent need for a national health protection strategy', Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 212, no. 8, pp. 349-353.
- Vardoulakis, S, Marks, G & Abramson, M 2020, 'Lessons Learned from the Australian Bushfires: Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Public Health', JAMA Internal Medicine, vol. 180, no. 5, pp. 635-636.
- Vardoulakis, S, Marks, G & Abramson, M 2020, 'Lessons Learned from the Australian Bushfires: Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Public Health', JAMA Internal Medicine, vol. 180, no. 5, pp. 635-636.
- Vardoulakis, S, Sheel, M, Lal, A et al. 2020, 'COVID-19 environmental transmission and preventive public health measures', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol. Online.
- Vardoulakis, S, Salmond, J, Krafft, T et al. 2020, 'Urban environmental health interventions towards the Sustainable Development Goals', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 748, pp. 1-4.
- Mueller, W, Loh, M, Vardoulakis, S et al. 2020, 'Ambient particulate matter and biomass burning: an ecological time series study of respiratory and cardiovascular hospital visits in northern Thailand', Environmental Health, vol. 19, no. 77, pp. 1-12.
- Arbuthnott, K, Hajat, S, Heaviside, C et al. 2020, 'Years of life lost and mortality due to heat and cold in the three largest English cities', Environment International, vol. 144, pp. 1-9.
- Cooper, N, Green, D, Guo, Y et al. 2020, 'School children's exposure to indoor fine particulate matter', Environmental Research Letters, vol. 15, no. 11, pp. 1-13.
- Zeka, A, Tobias, A, Leonardi, G et al. 2020, 'Responding to COVID-19 requires strong epidemiological evidence of environmental and societal determining factors', The Lancet, vol. 4, no. 9, pp. 375-376.
- Johnston, H, Mueller, W, Steinle, S et al 2019, 'How Harmful Is Particulate Matter Emitted from Biomass Burning? A Thailand Perspective', Current Pollution Reports, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 353-377.
- Almendra, R, Santana, P, Mitsakou, C et al 2019, 'Cold-related mortality in three European metropolitan areas: Athens, Lisbon and London. Implications for health promotion', Urban Climate, vol. 30, pp. 1-9T.
- Morawska, L, Millers, W, Riley, M et al. 2019, 'Towards Urbanome the genome of the city to enhance the form and function of future cities', Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 4014, pp. 1-3.
- Carnell, E, Vieno, M, Vardoulakis, S et al 2019, 'Modelling public health improvements as a result of air pollution control policies in the UK over four decades - 1970 to 2010', Environmental Research Letters, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 1-12.
- Vardoulakis, S, Dear, K, Hajat, S et al. 2014, 'Comparative Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change on Heat-and Cold-Related Mortality in the United Kingdom and Australia', Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 122, no. 12, pp. 1285-1292.
- Vardoulakis, S, Shrubsole, C, Milner, J et al 2012, 'Public health outcomes of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies in the built environment', 10th International Conference on Healthy Buildings 2012, Curran Associates, Inc., Brisbane, QLD, pp. 687-692pp.
- Ochieng, C, Vardoulakis, S & Tonne, C 2012, 'Assessing improved biomass stoves as an intervention for reducing indoor air pollution exposure in rural Kenya', 10th International Conference on Healthy Buildings 2012, Curran Associates, Inc., Brisbane, QLD, pp. 471-476pp.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Response to Approach to Market - Contract for Procurement of Climate and Health Policy Expertise (Primary Investigator)
- Clean Energy for Healthy Environments and Lives (CE4HEAL) (Primary Investigator)
- Effectiveness of air purification and wood heater replacement in reducing indoor air pollution and asthma deterioration (Primary Investigator)
- Centre for air safety: healthy air for healthy communities (Secondary Investigator)
- Smoking and Air Quality Evidence Check (Primary Investigator)
- Promoting active travel and public transport for a post-pandemic world (Secondary Investigator)
- Contribution by CSIRO to the HEAL network (Primary Investigator)
- Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) - National Research Network on Human Health and Environmental Change (Primary Investigator)
- 10 things we can do - developing air pollution exposure reduction and lung health advice for people with asthma (Primary Investigator)
- Ext-led NSW DPIE Smart Places Acceleration Program Urban Environmental Information Platform OPENAIR (Secondary Investigator)
- Clean Energy for Healthy Environments And Lives (CE4HEAL) (Primary Investigator)
