Air Pollution and Climate Change

Thomas Münzel, MD, is a Senior Professor and Environmental Cardiologist in the Department of Cardiology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. From 2004 to 2023, he served as the Director of the department.
Dr. Münzel’s expertise lies in interventional cardiology and vascular biology. He completed his postdoctoral training in vascular biology at the Institute of Applied Physiology under Professor Eberhard Bassenge at Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg. He furthered his research as a visiting scientist in the laboratory of Dr. David G. Harrison at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on endothelial function and oxidative stress.
Dr. Münzel is a co-initiator of the Gutenberg Health Study, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive prospective cohort studies. He was also the founding director of the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis (CTH) in Mainz.
Since 2011, his research has centered on environmental risk factors for CVD.

Brenda Chitindi – Sketch Bio I am passionate in promoting healthier lifestyles and the opportunities for people to improve their lives and to underserved communities promote high quality access to healthcare. Through public health advocacy I help a large population to live healthy lives, mentally, socially, physically and culturally. I am a tobacco control advocate and Cardiovascular diseases, a Founder and Executive Secretary of Zambia Heart and Stroke Foundation since 2010, Founder/ Executive Director of Tobacco Free Association of Zambia since 2006, Co – Founder of Zambia Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance since 2016 and President of Zambian Alliance for Tobacco Control since 2021. I have strong ties with National, Regional and Global Tobacco Control community. In tobacco control I am the Board Member of Human Rights and Tobacco Control Network, Member of International Network of Women Against Tobacco and member of Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance. I am the author of 2020 and 2021 Zambia Tobacco Industry Interference Indexes, Child Labour in Tobacco Farms in Zambia, Violation of Women’s Rights in Tobacco Growing Areas in Zambia, Big Tobacco Tiny Targets, Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance. I have strong ties in Cardiovascular community at National, Regional and Global since 2010 when Zambia Heart and Stroke Foundation was formed. I have initiated many programs on heart health and its prevention including commemorations of World Heart Days, World Heart Federation Tobacco Control Roadmap in Zambia, Screening of hypertension around the country and Health Education in Public Food Procurement Policies among School Children in Zambia. Living with multiple Non – Communicable Diseases the Global NCD Alliance nominated me as NCD Diarist and with strong ties with partners, my work has been published widely at national, regional and global on media platforms.

I focus on the precise control of atmospheric environmental risk factors and have developed new technologies and methods, such as exposure simulation, risk identification, and risk prediction, characterized by the integration of multidisciplinary techniques.I have led 11 national-level research projects, including: National Outstanding Youth Fund project, National Natural Science Foundation of China key project, Integrated Project topic, National Key R&D Program projects. Over the past five years, I have published 76 original research and opinion papers as the first or corresponding author in top-tier journals, including Lancet, Nature, and their sub-journals. Of these, 45 were published in top-tier journals (Category 1) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with an average Impact Factor of 21. I have also served as the chief editor of 1 monograph and the deputy editor or contributing author of 12 books. Additionally, I hold 7 patents and 22 software copyrights. Among my honors, I received the 2022 Cell Press First China Female Scientist Award (one of only five recipients nationwide), was selected as part of the second batch of the National “Ten Thousand Talents Program” Youth Top Talent, and was awarded the 2024 Huaxia Youth Medical Science and Technology Award. I have been ranked among the global top 2% of scientists for three consecutive years. I am currently a member of the World Heart Federation Expert Committee on Air Pollution and Climate Change, a member of the National Environmental and Health Expert Advisory Committee, Deputy Editor of Environmental Hygiene Journal, Guest Editor of Environ International, Youth Editorial Board of Innovation, and Editorial Board member of Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine

Sumi Mehta has over 20 years of experience at the intersection of health, environment, and development, with a focus on air pollution and household energy. She has expertise in epidemiology, exposure assessment, comparative risk assessment, and cost-effectiveness analysis, extensive field experience in South, and Southeast Asia, and has also worked in Africa, East Asia, and Latin America.