Michael Brauer

Michael Brauer is a professor in the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), where he leads the Environmental Risk Factors team for the Global Burden of Disease Study. His research focuses on linkages between the built environment and human health, with specific interest in the global health impacts of air pollution and the relationships between multiple exposures mediated by urban form and population health. He has participated in monitoring and epidemiological studies throughout the world and served on advisory committees to the World Health Organization, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the U.S. National Academy of Science, the Royal Society of Canada, the International Joint Commission and various governments in North America and Asia. He is an associate editor of Environmental Health Perspectives. His contributions to environmental health have been acknowledged by a number of career achievement and publication awards.

People wear protective masks as the Roosevelt Island Tram crosses the East River while haze and smoke from the Canadian wildfires shroud the Manhattan skyline in the Queens Borough New York City, U.S., June 7, 2023.People wear protective masks as the Roosevelt Island Tram crosses the East River while haze and smoke from Canadian wildfires shroud the Manhattan skyline, in Queens, New York City, on June 7, 2023.
Environment

Protecting Ourselves From Wildfire Smoke

by Michael Brauer

Smoke is here to stay, so communities need to adapt

Luciana Messias dos Santos, 29, cooks using firewood outside her home in the Estrutural favela in Brasilia, Brazil, August 31, 2022.
Poverty

Tackling Air Pollution Starts at Home

by Sumi Mehta, Michael Brauer, Chen Chen, Tom Frieden

Rapidly developing countries critically need clean household energy  

A man exercises in a park on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, on November 9, 2017.
Environment

Every Breath We Take

by Michael Brauer, Susan Anenberg

Air pollution is a pernicious threat linked to millions of deaths each year

A man refreshes himself and his dog at a fountain, in Madureira Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 19, 2019.
Environment

Adapting Our Cities to the Future 

by Michael Brauer

Why cities need to plan for climate change now 

A firefighter takes a picture of a fire during a major wildfire that broke out in Vidauban, in the Var region of southern France, on August 18, 2021
Environment

Hot, Cold, and Deadly

by Sarah Wozniak, Michael Brauer

Extreme temperature is a threat to global health

Proportion of population with no access to hand-washing in 2019. The map shows that hand-washing access is lowest in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean.
Poverty

Handwashing Is Crucial for Combating Coronavirus

by Alemnesh H. Mirkuzie, Awoke Misganaw Temesgen, Michael Brauer

Expanded hand-washing access could save thousands of lives from diseases like COVID-19—especially in low-income settings