Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou: Revealing environmental health risks and solutions

Kioumourtzoglou, an environmental engineer and epidemiologist, joins Brown from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She earned her Doctor of Science in Environmental Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; her Master of Science in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill’s Environmental Sciences and Engineering Department; and a 5-year diploma in environmental engineering from the Department of Environmental Engineering at Democritus University of Thrace in Xanthi, Greece.

Kioumourtzoglou’s research uses statistical methods to characterize the impacts of climate-sensitive exposures on human health. She ultimately aims to identify vulnerable subpopulations and understand how risks vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and across other urban characteristics.

“What excites me most about joining Brown SPH and IBES is the opportunity to develop ideas organically with colleagues from diverse fields,” she says, noting that she has previously been restricted by academic silos. “This joint appointment brings that breadth of expertise together from the start, creating space for truly transdisciplinary work. I can’t wait to see the magic happen!”

Meredith Niles: Improving food security systems for vulnerable communities

Niles will join the Brown community in January 2026 following a decade at the University of Vermont’s Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Drawing from a variety of disciplines, her research focuses on advancing efforts to achieve sustainable food security and improve health, environmental, and rural livelihood outcomes in food systems, especially with marginalized communities. 

Niles holds a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis, with a focus on sustainable agriculture and environmental policy, as well as a B.A. in political science with honors in environmental studies from the Catholic University of America.

Before launching her academic career, Niles worked in public health at the U.S. Department of State on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and with several environmental and food system non-profit organizations. 

She says that she is “thrilled” to join the Brown community “to forge new interdisciplinary collaborations and conduct boundary-spanning research in food systems, climate, and health that has real-world policy impact.”

Welcome, Professors Niles and Kioumourtzoglou!