Exploring Student Perspectives: The Current Landscape of Student- led Initiatives in Climate & Health Education (Building Better Curriculum) - April 19, 2023

MS4SF Executive Chair and MD/MPH Candidate at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Class of 2024

As the current Executive Chair of MS4SF, in her second term, Savita is committed to promoting environmental justice in the climate action initiatives this organization undertakes. She has co-led the newly established Climate Change and Human Health MD Program curriculum theme. Savita plans on applying into OBGYN for residency and is incredibly passionate about the intersectionality of reproductive health, climate change, and environmental justice. Prior to her role as Executive Chair, she served as one of the Climate Smart Health Care co-chairs for MS4SF. Her organizational priorities for 2023 include expanding student representation to regions new to climate change and health, collaborating with professional medical societies on shared priorities in climate action to amplify student voices, and leading the organization’s transition to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

MS4SF Vice Chair, MD Candidate at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Class of 2024

Taylor’s interest in environmental health, climate change, and related social justice began young and was fostered through a BA in Environmental Studies and a BS in Biology at The George Washington University. She served as GW Medical School’s Climate Health Interest Group president in addition to co-pioneering GW SMHS’s Climate Change and Human Health curricula theme. Pediatric oriented, she also has a special interest to integrate climate health principles into child healthcare to create a longitudinal mutually beneficial relationship.

MS4SF Vice Chair

Douglas currently serves as a Vice Chair for MS4SF. Additionally he leads sustainability efforts as an MD/PhD Student at the University of Colorado. Douglas knows climate change, social justice, and health are increasingly connected, and he expects our medical schools to be on the forefront of addressing it.

Douglas knows climate change, social justice, and health are increasingly connected, and he expects our medical schools to be on the forefront of addressing it. While his work as a Vice Chair for MS4SF is focused on addressing these expectations nationally, as a MD/PhD student in Colorado, his research interests trace the intersections of infectious disease and the climate crisis. he works with local community members to addresses heat-stress in Denver and leads a fantastic team of residents, fellows, and med students sustainability initiatives on campus.. passionate about interweaving climate change more deeply into med school curricula and elevating what physicians can to address the climate crisis.

Harleen Marwah, MD MS, is a pediatric resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and was the founding chair of Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF), a community of 500+ medical trainees across 100+ medical schools who recognize the urgency of the climate crisis on health. They combine the spark of youth activism and the perspective of medicine to advocate for policies that protect patients. She was selected as a 2021 Grist 50 Fixer and earned the 2020 Health Care Without Harm Emerging Physician Leader Award in recognition of her work founding and leading MS4SF Prior to medical school, Dr. Marwah earned her M.S. in Global Medicine and B.S. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from the University of Southern California. She has represented health and intergenerational equity stakeholders at the United Nations COP20 in Lima, Peru and the COP21 in Paris, France.

Founder & Project Director, Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE)

Natasha Sood is a fourth-year medical student at Penn State College of Medicine. She is the Founder and Project Director of the Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE) initiative at the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE).

Taylor is a third-year medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is the Co-Director and former Implementation & Analytics Chair (2020-22) of the Planetary Health Report Card.

MD MPH Candidate at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Julia is a fourth-year MD MPH student at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.  As a co-leader of Students for Environmental Awareness in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, she and her peers have led the integration of climate health content into the medical curriculum.

MD candidate (expected graduation: 2024)

Madhu Manivannan is a 4th year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine. She serves as co-president of the student organization Medical Students for Climate Action, and is currently working on projects related to implementing climate education into the medical school curriculum. Her other interests include climate justice & advocacy, health inequities, and the intersection of climate change on maternal and fetal health outcomes.