The Center for Global Health Equity is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Bilal Butt as senior advisor for a one-year term beginning in March. Butt, a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability and current center faculty affiliate, will provide strategic guidance on integrating climate and environmental health frameworks into the center's research and partnership initiatives.
Butt's appointment comes as the center continues to enhance its programming, with a renewed focus on supporting early- and mid-career global health faculty, reciprocal local–global learning, and the application of AI and data-enabled approaches to health innovation and policy. His expertise in critical political ecology and the intersection of climate and health will help ensure the center's work addresses interconnected challenges facing communities across partnerships in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
"Environmental health and human health are fundamentally inseparable," said Akbar Waljee, center executive director. "Dr. Butt's leadership in climate and health research will strengthen our ability to support faculty and partners working at this critical intersection."
Butt's research focuses on how climate change affects the health of pastoral communities in dryland Africa, the politics of conservation work, and the growing role of data in environmental governance. His work has been recognized with the National Science Foundation's CAREER Award and the Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang Distinguished Scholar Award from the Association of American Geographers.
As senior advisor, Butt will collaborate with center leadership and faculty to develop frameworks for incorporating climate and environment considerations into global health research, strengthen partnerships with communities facing climate-related health challenges, and mentor early-career researchers working at the nexus of environment and health.
The appointment builds on Butt's existing affiliation with the center and his extensive experience conducting community-engaged research in Kenya.
