— College of Public Health — Departments — Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health — Faculty & Staff — Jesse E. Bell, PhD

Jesse E. Bell, PhD

Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate and Health
Director, Water, Climate and Health Program, UNMC
Director, Water, Climate and Health, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska
Professor, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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Phone: 402-552-7237

Dr. Jesse E. Bell is the Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate, and Health in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the School of Natural Resources within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the director of the Water, Climate and Health Program at UNMC and the director of Water, Climate and Health at the University of Nebraska’s Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.

The mission of these programs is to develop interdisciplinary research, education and collaborative solutions to public health challenges associated with environmental issues in Nebraska and around the world. As the founding director, he has helped grow these programs to over 25 faculty, staff, and students. His expertise and research are focused on understanding how human and natural processes are connected to changes in the environment and climate.

Before coming to UNMC, Dr. Bell developed and served in an interagency position between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During his time in this role, his work built the foundation for novel and innovative approaches to use climate data to assist with health research. He was able to unite each organization's efforts toward better understanding the impact of climate change on health.

Dr. Bell has also authored more than 70 scientific articles and technical reports, including serving as a lead author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” that was released by the White House in 2016 and an author of Human Health chapter for the congressionally mandated Fifth National Climate Assessment. Dr. Bell is a native Nebraskan and received his Ph.D. is from the University of Oklahoma.

Education

2009 PhD, The University of Oklahoma
2003 BS, Emporia State University

Professional Interests

Dr. Bell's research explores the relationships of extreme weather, climate variability, and climate change on natural and human processes. The climate that we experience controls much of the world around us. When our climate abruptly changes or gradually shifts, there can be related consequences to both our communities and our health. The goal of his work is to understand these linkages between climate and health, so that we can help prepare our populations for climate- and weather-related disasters. To determine these relationships, he uses a variety of climate and environmental data sources to explore associations with human health outcomes. Much of his experience in this field comes from his previous position, where he created the first joint research position between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The role of this dual appointment was to provide a mechanism to integrate NOAA climate and environmental data into CDC health projects.

This work provided him firsthand experience that is now the foundation for his current research. In addition to this, his participation as a lead author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” that was released by the White House in 2016 has also shaped his professional interests. A key finding of this report is that climate change is a significant threat to the health of the American people and that every American is vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. As this finding suggests, there are many research opportunities to evaluate and understand the role of climate on human health. By accomplishing this work, we have the potential to save lives and create more climate resilient communities.

Selected Publications

Berman, J. D., Abadi, A. M., & Bell, J. E. (2024). Existing Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Drought and Health Research. Current environmental health reports, 1-11.
Gwon, Y., Ji, Y., Abadi, A. M., Rau, A., Berman, J. D., Leeper, R. D., ... & Bell, J. E. (2024). The effect of heterogeneous severe drought on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the Northern Rockies and Plains of the United States. Science of The Total Environment, 912, 169033.
Hayden, M.H., P.J. Schramm, C.B. Beard, J.E. Bell, A.S. Bernstein, A. Bieniek-Tobasco, N. Cooley, M. Diuk-Wasser, Michael K. Dorsey, K.L. Ebi, K.C. Ernst, M.E. Gorris, P.D. Howe, A.S. Khan, C. Lefthand-Begay, J. Maldonado, S. Saha, F. Shafiei, A. Vaidyanathan, and O.V. Wilhelmi, 2023: Ch. 15. Human health. In: Fifth National Climate Assessment. Crimmins, A.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock, Eds. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA5.2023.CH15
Tong, D.Q., Gill, T.E., Sprigg, W.A., Van Pelt, R.S., Baklanov, A.A., Barker, B.M., Bell, J.E., Castillo, J., Gassó, S., Gaston, C.J. and Griffin, D.W., 2023. Health and safety effects of airborne soil dust in the Americas and beyond. Reviews of Geophysics, 61(2), p.e2021RG000763.

Professional Affiliations

American Meteorological Society
American Geophysical Union
Oxford Half Degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts (HAPPI)