As part of the EUTOPIA_HEALTH project, NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA) invites researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, to participate in the intensive transdisciplinary training Data and Tools to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts on Human Health.
Practical information
- Dates: 3-5 November 2026
- Venue: Campus de Campolide, Lisbon
- Duration: 3 full days
- Language: English
- Format: In-person
Course description:
Climate change is increasingly recognized as one of the major threats to population health, influencing morbidity and mortality through heatwaves, air pollution, extreme weather events, vector-borne diseases, and other environmental hazards. Effective adaptation and mitigation strategies require the ability to integrate environmental and health data and to translate evidence into public health action.
This three-day course provides an introduction to the main datasets, analytical approaches, and decision-support tools used to assess and mitigate the health impacts of climate change. Designed for researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows working on public health and related fields, the course combines lectures with practical examples and case studies.
Participants will explore the pathways linking climate change and health and become familiar with key environmental data sources, including meteorological, air quality, land use, and climate projection datasets from European and international agencies. The course will also review routinely collected health data, such as mortality records, hospital admissions, disease registries, and surveillance systems, and discuss opportunities and challenges for linking these data.
Through examples from recent studies, participants will learn how environmental and health datasets can be integrated to quantify health risks, identify vulnerable populations, and evaluate adaptation measures. The course will introduce spatial and temporal analysis techniques, exposure assessment methods, and freely available tools and platforms for data visualization and analysis.
Special attention will be given to practical applications relevant to public health practice, including heat-health warning systems, air quality management, infectious disease surveillance, and climate adaptation planning. By the end of the course, participants will have gained an understanding of how data-driven approaches can support evidence-based policies and interventions aimed at reducing the burden of climate-sensitive diseases and increasing the resilience of communities to a changing climate.
Trainers:
- Ricardo Assunção, DVM, PhDÂ
National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Food and Nutrition Department, Lisbon, Portugal
Ricardo Assunção is a veterinary scientist and researcher specializing in food safety, food toxicology, and food sustainability, with particular expertise in chemical risk assessment. His work applies a One Health perspective to the integration of environmental and food-chain data in support of risk assessment and burden of disease estimation, contributing evidence to inform public health decision-making on the prevention of climate-sensitive and environmentally mediated health hazards.
- Aleksandra Kazmierczak, PhD
European Environment Agency
Aleksandra is an expert in climate change and human health at the European Environment Agency (EEA). She coordinates the European Climate and Health Observatory initiative – a partnership between the European Commission, EEA, and other European and international organisations. She has worked for over 15 years on adaptation to climate change. Before joining EEA in 2017, Aleksandra carried out research at University of Manchester and Cardiff University, UK.
- Carla Viegas, PhD
Lisbon School of Health/Polytechnic University of Lisbon
Carla Viegas is an environmental health and exposure scientist. Her major field of study is occupational and environmental microbiology leading and participating in several national and international projects about both areas of expertise. Special interests are occupational exposure to fungi in highly contaminated settings, complementary of culture-base methods and molecular tools to assess fungi occupational exposure and climate change impact on exposure to microbial contamination and AMR.
Organizing committee
- Susana Viegas, PhD
NOVA National School of Public Health, Lisbon, Portugal
Susana Viegas is an environmental health and exposure scientist whose work has focused on environmental determinants of health. More recently, her research has expanded to address climate change impacts on public health and risk assessment aiming at supporting mitigation policies and promoting better adaptation to climate change. Overall, her work bridges climate change, exposure science and public health, with the aim of generating scientific evidence that supports healthier environments and more resilient societies.
- Carla Martins, PhD
NOVA National School of Public Health, Lisbon, Portugal
PhD in Public Health, with a background in Biomedical Sciences. Her research focuses on environmental risk factors, human biomonitoring, climate change, burden of disease and food safety, and she coordinates and participates in national and international research projects. She is actively engaged in teaching and capacity-building, contributing to advanced training in public health and climate change.
Who can apply
Researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, with a relevant background in public health, environmental sciences, data science or other related fields, from the EUTOPIA_HEALTH consortium:
- Widening partners: Babes-Bolyai University (UBB), Romania; University of Ljubljana (UL), Slovenia; NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA), Portugal
- Non-widening partners: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium; Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (UNIVE), Italy; CY Cergy Paris University (CY), France; University of Gothenburg (GU), Sweeden; Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona (UPF), Spain; University of Warwick (UW), United Kingdom
How to apply
Fill in the registration form by 25 September 2026.
Selection will be carried out by NOVA by 2 October 2026 based on the number of available places, their commitment to attend all sessions, the relevance of the applicant’s profile, and their motivation to participate, and the need to ensure a balanced representation across the university’s departments.
Important notes
- Participation is free of charge.
- 15 seats are available for NOVA’s researchers and 5 for the remaining institutions of the consortium. Depending on demand and room capacity, additional places may be made available.
- Selected applicants who are affiliated with an institution other than NOVA will be contacted by their institutions regarding travel and accommodation bookings.
- For any questions, please contact us at nova.research@unl.pt