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Welcome to the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Research on Climate, Health, and Energy (BIRCHE3) Lab.
Our research focuses on the impacts of energy use - typically at the household level - on air pollution, climate, and health. While progress on providing clean household energy arguably follows development trajectories, there is need to accelerate this transition through innovative policy and dissemination approaches. Our research group builds the evidence base for these transitions based on health, environmental, and economic benefits using the multidisciplinary field of Environmental Health Sciences as the foundation of our work. We use and develop lower-cost sensors to objectively answer questions where evidence is lacking and explore novel techniques to link vulnerable populations with effective interventions.

Recent Publications (see more)

FEATURED In praise of cooking gas subsidies: transitional fuels to advance health and equity Jul 12, 2024

Using case studies, we show LPG has climate and health benefits as a transitional clean fuel for households where potentially cleaner and more sustainable solutions, like cooking with electricity, are not yet feasible (and not yet clean given current grid mixes).

FEATURED Household Air Pollution Interventions to Improve Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement Apr 15, 2024

A multidisciplinary group of international researchers, public health practitioners, and policymakers with expertise in household air pollution reviewed a literature search, convened four sessions via web conference, and developed consensus conclusions and recommendations via the Delphi method.

FEATURED Effects of Cooking with Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass on Stunting in Infants Jan 04, 2024

An intervention strategy starting in pregnancy and aimed at mitigating household air pollution by replacing biomass fuel with LPG for cooking did not reduce the risk of stunting in infants. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

FEATURED Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass Cooking and Severe Infant Pneumonia Jan 03, 2024

The incidence of severe pneumonia among infants did not differ significantly between those whose mothers were assigned to cook with LPG stoves and fuel and those whose mothers were assigned to continue cooking with biomass stoves. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

FEATURED Heat Exposure among Adult Women in Rural Tamil Nadu, India Dec 05, 2023

Exposure to heat is of particular concern in India, which is one of the world’s hottest countries and also most populous, where relatively little is known about personal heat exposure, particularly in rural areas. Here, we leverage data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial to describe personal temperature exposures of adult women (40−79 years of age) in rural Tamil Nadu.

Data management plan and REDCap mobile data capture for a multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial Aug 21, 2024

Association of household air pollution exposure and anemia among pregnant women: Analysis of baseline data from ’Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN)’ trial Jun 17, 2024

Factors Determining Black Carbon Exposures among Pregnant Women Enrolled in the HAPIN Trial May 29, 2024

Cooking with liquefied petroleum gas or biomass and fetal growth outcomes: a multi-country randomised controlled trial May 10, 2024

Beating the Heat (Invited Perspective) Feb 09, 2024

Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove intervention on stillbirth, congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality: A multi-country household air pollution intervention network trial Jan 27, 2024

Biomass smoke exposure and somatic growth among children: The RESPIRE and CRECER prospective cohort studies in rural Guatemala Dec 22, 2023

Seasonally optimized calibrations improve low-cost sensor performance: long-term field evaluation of PurpleAir sensors in urban and rural India Oct 05, 2023

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