Jesse Bell

Dr. Jesse E. Bell is the Claire M. Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate, and Health in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the School of Natural Resources within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also the director of the Water, Climate and Health Program at UNMC and the director of Water, Climate and Health at the University of Nebraska’s Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. His expertise and research are focused on understanding the impacts of changes in the environment and climate on natural and human processes. Before coming to UNMC, Dr. Bell developed and served as the first holder of an interagency position between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During his time in this role, he worked on a variety of innovative health projects that made use of his knowledge of climate processes and ability to analyze climate data. He was able to unite their efforts toward better understanding climate’s impact on health. His research and efforts there built the foundation for future, novel, and inventive approaches to use climate data to assist with health research. During this time, he was a lead author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program report “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” that was released by the White House in 2016. He is also adjunct faculty for the Department of Environmental Health at Emory University. Dr. Bell is a native Nebraskan and received his Ph.D. is from the University of Oklahoma.