Flooding Research Wins Inaugural Andrea Baccarelli Best Paper Award
Climate change is making flooding happen more often, and when it happens, it is often deadly. A scientific paper detailing the ways flooding is contributing to rising mortality in the U.S. was published earlier this year in Nature Medicine. Now, in honor of the study's contributions, its lead author, Victoria (Tory) Lynch, PhD '22, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), is the recipient of the inaugural Andrea Baccarelli Best Paper Award.
The award is named after former EHS chair Andrea Baccarelli, who now serves as dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Lynch’s paper was chosen by a faculty panel chaired by Alan Cohen, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the Columbia Aging Center, based on originality, scientific rigor, and potential impact on the direction of future scientific research, and/or on the environmental health of the public. Funding for the award was provided in part by monies raised to support EHS students and trainees in the wake of federal grant terminations. The paper was also recognized as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Extramural Paper of the Month earlier this year.
In their paper, Lynch, senior author Robbie M. Parks, and co-authors report the results of the first study to examine the wide-ranging mortality risks of flooding in the U.S., including floods unrelated to hurricanes, such as those due to heavy rain, snowmelt, or ice jams. Mortality risks are driven in part by infectious diseases—likely related to disruptions to drinking water and sewage infrastructure— and chronic and neuropsychiatric conditions, which may relate to stress from flood-related disruptions. The study’s findings provide information that could help public health agencies allocate resources during these emergencies.
Lynch earned her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences in the Climate and Health Program in 2022. Her thesis examined the association between flooding and 10 waterborne pathogens with a particular focus on Legionnaires’ disease. In 2023, she published a study in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, finding that cyclones promote the spread of waterborne infectious diseases.
“Dr. Lynch’s receipt of the Andrea Baccarelli Best Paper Award is a testament to her exceptional diligence, intellectual rigor, and sustained commitment throughout her post-doctoral research. Her award-winning paper reflects not only her expertise but also the perseverance that distinguishes her as an outstanding scholar in her field,” says Parks, assistant professor of environmental health sciences.
“I am incredibly grateful to the EHS department for the support it has provided to me since I was a doctoral student, and I am honored to receive the inaugural Baccarelli award. It is a joy to work with colleagues who are sincerely committed to protecting and improving public health. I am especially appreciative of Robbie Parks, who was, of course, instrumental in this work and has supported me in pursuing this long-overlooked area of climate and health research,” says Lynch.