Research Collaborative
Nature and Health conducts research to better understand the benefits of time spent in nature and how to leverage them. Since 2014, we have demonstrated the reciprocal relationship between nature and human well-being in different ways and from a variety of perspectives and approaches. While we already understand that even a little contact with nature is beneficial, we still have much to learn. For example, we need to know more about the mechanisms through which nature experiences affect changes in the mind and body. We also need to understand what aspects have the largest effects and how those effects vary across different individuals and populations. To answer these questions, we collaborate with researchers from many disciplines.
Below, you can learn about the core researchers behind Nature and Health’s groundbreaking research.
Meet the NW Nature & Health Research Collaborative
Gregory Bratman, PhD (he/him)
Associate professor, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Co-director, Nature and Health
Expertise: environmental psychology, public health, ecology, causal pathways from nature experience to human well-being, psychological ecosystem services, environmental justice, health inequities
Andrew Dannenberg, MD, MPH (he/him)
Affiliate professor, School of Public Health
Expertise: built environment, climate change, environmental health, health equity, risk assessment, sustainable communities
Katie Davis, PhD (she/her)
Associate professor, UW iSchool
Expertise: child-computer interaction, digital youth, learning sciences
Monika Derrien, PhD (she/her)
Assistant professor, UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Affiliate assistant professor, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Expertise: sustainable recreation and tourism, human-nature connections, urban greenspaces, public lands management, environmental communication and interpretation, environmental justice, public health benefits of outdoor recreation and public lands
Ailene Ettinger, PhD (she/her)
Quantitative ecologist, The Nature Conservancy
Expertise: applied conservation, climate change mitigation, community ecology, the benefits we experience from nature and how those benefits are distributed
Dr. Howard Frumkin (he/him)
Professor Emeritus, UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: sustainable communities, COVID-19, built environment, climate change, environmental health, environmental justice, health equity, heat, policy, population health Initiative
Dr. Amber Fyfe-Johnson (she/her)
Assistant professor, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, WSU
Expertise: pediatric health equity, outdoor nature-based exposures, social determinants of health, early life adversity, stress, physical activity, gut microbiome, cardiometabolic health
Anjum Hajat, PhD, MPH (she/her)
Associate professor, UW Department of Epidemiology
Expertise: air pollution epidemiology, epidemiology methods, contextual and neighborhood determinants of health, psychosocial stress, stress biomarkers, chronic disease
Michelle Johnson-Jennings, PhD (she/her)
Choctaw Nation Enrolled Tribal Member
Professor, UW Schools of Social Work and Public Health
Co-executive director, Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: Indigenous health and psychology, epidemiology, addiction medicine, psychological and behavioral aspects of healthcare
Peter Kahn, PhD (he/him)
Professor, UW Department of Psychology and School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Director, Human Interaction with Nature and Technological Systems (HINTS) Laboratory
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: human interaction with nature and technological systems, ecopsychology, social and moral development, human-robot interaction
Josh Lawler, PhD (he/him)
Co-director, UW Center for Nature and Health
Professor, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Faculty director, UW Botanic Gardens
Expertise: climate, conservation, ecology
Phil Levin, PhD (he/him)
Interim executive director, EarthLab
Professor of Practice, UW College of the Environment
Director, Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Lab
Expertise: conservation science, marine ecology, social sciences
Ian Munanura, PhD (he/him)
Associate professor, Oregon State University
Expertise: sustainable recreation and tourism, social science, policy and natural resources, integrated social and ecological systems
Kim Meidenbauer, PhD (she/her)
Assistant professor, Washington State University
Director, Social, Cognitive, & Environmental Neuroscience (SCENe) Lab
Expertise: effects of heat exposure on cognitive function, cognitive decline in aging, emotional states, and aggressive behaviors; environmental justice and the creation of equitable and inclusive environments to minimize health disparities; developing methods to bridge lab-based experiments with computational models of large-scale environmental effects; using mobile neuroimaging (functional NIRS) to measure neural activity in naturalistic settings
Nalini Nadkarni, PhD (she/her)
Professor, University of Utah Department of Biology
Expertise: community and ecosystem ecology, forest canopy, forest conservation, public engagement of science
Paula Nurius, PhD (she/her)
Emeritus faculty, UW School of Social Work
Expertise: lifespan stress and social disadvantage; adolescent and adult mental health; violence victimization, perpetration, and psychosocial impacts; coping and resilience supports; prevention and translational research
Julian D. Olden, PhD (he/him)
Professor, UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
Expertise: conservation, freshwater ecology, invasive species, climate change, noise pollution, community-based research, science communication
Hector Olvera Alvarez, PhD, PE (he/him)
Professor, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University
Senior associate dean for research, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University
Expertise: environmental and social epidemiology; exposure science (air pollution); biobehavioral pathways of susceptibility; health equity; benefits of nature among susceptible and vulnerable populations
Dr. Carolyn Parsey (she/her)
Assistant professor, UW Department of Neurology
Neuropsychologist, UW Medicine
Expertise: neuropsychology, neurodegenerative disorders
Sara Perrins, PhD, EdM (she/her)
Lead public health research scientist, ICF
Expertise: mental health, public health, child development, survey design, methodology
Nancy Rottle, MLA (she/her)
Professor Emeritus, UW Department of Landscape Architecture
Expertise: green infrastructure, ecological and sustainable design, public space, low-impact stormwater design, learning landscapes, cultural landscape preservation, engaged scholarship, planning and design for climate mitigation and adaptation
Dr. Pooja S. Tandon, (she/her)
Associate professor, University of Washington Seattle
Pediatrician, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Health director, Trust for Public Land
Expertise: sustainable communities, children’s health, environmental health, health equity, nutrition
Edmund Seto, PhD (he/him)
Director, UW Center for Environmental Health Equity
Professor, UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: clean air, clean water, sustainable communities, built environment, climate change, community-engaged research, environmental health, environmental justice, health equity, infectious diseases, policy, pollution, risk assessment, wildfires
Usha Varanasi, PhD (she/her)
Affiliate faculty, UW School of Aquatics and Fishery Sciences
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: applied chemistry, marine conservation, ecotoxicology, marine mammal bioacoustics
Kathleen Wolf, PhD (she/her)
Research social scientist (retired, affiliate), UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Expertise: nature-based human health, environmental health, environmental psychology, urban ecosystems, urban forestry, urban planning, green schoolyards
Spencer Wood, PhD (he/him)
Principal research scientist, EarthLab
Senior data science fellow, eScience Institute
Affiliate assistant professor, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Member, Nature and Health Steering Committee
Expertise: archaeology, fire ecology, outdoor recreation, public land management, sustainable development
Interested in Joining the Research Collaborative?
Are you a researcher working at the intersection of public health, outdoor recreation, urban planning, environmental equity, or health equity? Are you interested in supporting groundbreaking research in the field of nature and health? Then let us know about your interest. Please include a copy of your CV or a link to your research profile in your email and we will get back to you.