A new Brown University center is exploring how climate, environment, and human health intersect

Last month, school officials widespread rollbacks to the Department of Health and Human Services over the last month or so. Do you think that elevates the need for non-government institutions to pursue this work, or does that hurt what you are doing?

I think the uncertainties regarding [National Institutes of Health] funding to these areas certainly makes it harder to do this work, and there’s a lot going on in that area right now in terms of funding higher education institutions to carry out the research.

The administration has said that it intends to hold over $500 million from Brown specifically. Does that hurt you as well?

That would greatly impede our ability to do the work that we’re trying to carry out. And I think private foundations and philanthropists can only fill a fraction of that void. So if this work is to be carried out, it really is going to need the funding from the National Institutes of Health.

You went through a long list of past research you’ve been involved in, the center has been involved in. Is there anything in particular that you’ve been most proud of over the years, and something you maybe hope that this reconfiguration will help expand on?

I think some of the things that I’m really proud of is that we’ve managed to bring together some investigators who are doing work in some really diverse areas.

One of them is the work that Erica Walker, who’s a junior faculty member, … she’s doing a lot of work down in Jackson, Miss., trying to address that community’s concerns about environmental health threats.

They have a lot of concerns about water contamination and boil water advisories. And I think having Brown University down there to help address those needs in a community that … isn’t really the focus of, you know, Ivy League institutions … I think this is a real chance for us to make an impact in addressing those concerns down there.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

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Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.