An interdisciplinary team of public health and environmental science researchers from across the University of California have found that despite efforts by the state and local school districts, many public schools fall short of providing sufficient shade, much less natural playing surfaces, for the 5.8 million children they serve – especially in an era of extreme temperatures.
Two related and recently published studies by teams led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers focused on the public health impact of wildfires, including whether publicly available data sources captured an increase in air pollution during the fires and how air quality changed over space and time.
The Hill interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Kekoa Taparra, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy Management, about his research into mortality during the 2024 Maui wildfires.
" 'Wildfires can cause death in a variety of ways,' co-lead author Kekoa Taparra, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a statement.
La Opinion interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. David Eisenman, professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, about the potential health risks in the aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles County fires.
The New York Times interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Chelsea Shover, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, about the impact of funding reductions for "harm reduction" strategies in addiction treatment.
"... Harm reduction supporters reject the notion that protecting people from the worst consequences of drugs encourages use.
The Los Angeles Times interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Nadereh Pourat, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, about the potential impact of reductions in federal funding for MediCal and Medicaid.
A team led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health experts has trained more than 300 construction workers as part of the state’s response to the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires.
The project, funded by the California State Department of Public Health (CDPH), has trained workers – including many temporary workers, day laborers, and domestic workers - who otherwise have little or no experience dealing with the mix of potentially toxic debris left after a major wildfire, experts said.
Air quality scientists from the University of California have detected elevated levels of hexavalent chromium and silver in air samples collected from the debris cleanup zones for the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, which occurred January 2025 in Los Angeles County.
New research unveils the true death toll of the deadly August 2023 wildfires which took place in Hawaii — and which temporarily made wildfire a leading cause of death on the island of Maui.
Bloomberg referenced research led by UCLA Fielding's Dr. Yifang Zhu, professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences.
"The problem “can be solved,” said Yuan Yao, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Fielding School of Public Health. “We want to make sure that EV adoption is clean.”