IHPI Sandy-Hassmiller Climate & Health Initiative

The University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation (IHPI) has launched the Sandy-Hassmiller Climate and Health Initiative to advance critical research on the challenges that climate change poses to health and health care.

Made possible by a generous gift from Lewis G. Sandy, M.D., and Susan Hassmiller, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, the initiative will foster interdisciplinary research, train emerging leaders, and connect clinicians and scientists to better understand and inform policies to address climate-related health impacts on individuals, communities, and health care infrastructure. This effort aligns with U-M’s Vision 2034 strategic focus on climate action, sustainability and environmental justice.

“Throughout our careers, we have dedicated ourselves to addressing crucial topics affecting individual and population health,” said Sandy and Hassmiller. “We have witnessed firsthand the profound impact that climate change and extreme weather events can have on individuals, populations, health systems and communities.  Advancing rigorous and impactful, evidence-based research on this topic is essential, and we are deeply committed to supporting efforts that help to address this complex issue. Through the Sandy-Hassmiller Climate and Health Initiative at IHPI, our goal is to provide vital foundational support to scholars, advance evidence-based policymaking, and support the communities that stand to benefit from these discoveries.”

This gift builds on Sandy’s and Hassmiller’s ongoing support of IHPI early-career researchers. Since 2022, the Sandy-Hassmiller Early Career Health Services Research Award has provided seed funding for IHPI early career faculty to conduct innovative health research projects.

Supporting early-career climate and health scholarship 

As part of the initiative, IHPI has partnered with the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP), which trains physicians and nurses to lead improvements in health care through research and policy engagement, to launch a collaborative, cross-site research grant program in fall 2025. The grants support climate and health projects by scholars at U-M’s NCSP site and five partner sites: Yale University, Duke University, University of California–Los Angeles, University of California–San Francisco, and the University of Pennsylvania. In early 2026, the selected teams will receive seed funding and specialized training in policy engagement and communications to maximize the reach and impact of their work.

Sue Anne Bell, Ph.D., FNP-BC, FAAN, associate professor at the U-M School of Nursing and a nationally recognized expert in disaster preparedness and climate-related health impacts, serves as the inaugural director of this initiative. In this role, she works alongside the NCSP leadership team to mentor grant recipients and develop new climate and health educational modules to be piloted at U-M and shared at NCSP sites across the country.

Catalyzing campus-wide collaboration

A core goal of the initiative is to create new opportunities for partnership across the U-M, strengthening connections between researchers, clinicians, and community partners working at the intersection of climate and health.

In collaboration with the U-M Graham Sustainability Institute, IHPI sponsored a climate and health track in the 2025–26 Graham Catalyst Grants program, offering up to $15,000 for faculty projects addressing critical sustainability challenges through collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches. These grants support new research ideas, solution-oriented knowledge, or practical applications of knowledge for societal impact. 

The two IHPI-supported projects selected for 2026 include a collaboration to create and test a practical educational tool for community health workers to strengthen extreme heat preparedness and sustainable cooling strategies. The team includes members from Michigan Medicine, the School of Public Health, the Institute for Social Research, and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, led by principal investigator Paul Chandanabhumma, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of family medicine. A second project, led by Simone Charles, Ph.D., M.S., clinical associate professor of public health, will develop practical resources for community response to wildfire smoke in rural communities, bringing together team members from the School of Public Health, Stamps School of Art and Design, the School for Environment and Sustainability, the School of Nursing, and community partners including the Okanogan Conservation District, Methow Valley Citizen’s Council, and Clean Air Methow.

Beyond funding, the initiative is also working to convene researchers and accelerate new collaborations across campus. During U-M Climate Week in October 2025, IHPI, the Graham Institute, and the Center for Global Health Equity hosted a climate and health networking event to connect researchers and share information about climate and health funding opportunities. Future plans include building a network of U-M faculty engaged in climate and health scholarship and fostering collaborations with student organizations.

For more information or to get involved, contact [email protected]. Visit IHPI’s Climate & Health page to learn more about ongoing research.

Note: This story was originally published in September 2025. It has been updated as of 1/19/26 to reflect new details.