The NIH and Washington DC Chapters of the Korean-American Women in Science and Engineering (KWiSE) successfully hosted a virtual forum “Impact of Climate Change on Human Life”. (https://sites.google.com/view/kwise2022web) from October 19 to November 14, 2022.
During the 4-part forum series, internationally renowned experts from the United States and South Korea have shared their experience and research on policy, human health, infectious disease, and food system.
During the first forum Mr. Taeyong Cho, ambassador of the Republic of Korea, United States, gave opening remarks. After this Dr. Sei-joong Kwon, a minister and consul general at the Korean Embassy, discussed the efforts of the South Korean government for the Paris Agreement. Mr. John Furlow, the Director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia University, presented his experience helping countries understand how their policies support or impede progress toward their international commitments for the UN climate change adaptation goals.
The second event on October 27th focused on the impact of climate change on human health. Dr. Ho Kim at Seoul National University (South Korea) addressed the mortality due to temperature change with data from East Asian countries. Dr. Kathleen Merikangas at the National Institute of Mental Health (USA) presented her research focused on the association between mental disorders and light and temperature.
The third one focused on the impact of climate change on Infectious diseases. Dr. Daesup Song at Seoul National University (South Korea) talked about “Spillover Infection of Coronavirus and Application History of the Coronavirus Vaccine in Various Species”. Claudia Brown at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) addressed the focus on “US Climate and Health Adaptation Strategies: From Science to Practice”.
The fourth event was mainly about the impact of climate change on Food Systems. Dr. Min-Kyeong Kim at the National Institute of Agriculture Sciences (South Korea) talked about “R&D Strategy Against Climate Change at RDA in South Korea”. Dr. Lisa Ainsworth at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) presented on “Crop Responses to Climate Change”.
This event was sponsored by the Korea Foundation.
Forum organizing committee members are Dr. Dong-Yun Kim (NHLBI/NIH), Dr. Jinyoung Barnaby (USDA), Dr. Eunjin Han (USDA), Dr. Youngmi Ji (NIDCR/NIH), Dr. Sun Jung Kang (NIMH/NIH), Dr. Ji Hyun Lee (CC/NIH), Dr. Sung-Sil Moon (CDC), and Dr. Yangmee Shin (CDER/FDA).
