Research Overview
Our multidisciplinary approach spans key areas of environment-health research
Maternal & Child Health
Our geospatial analysis focuses on maternal health outcomes, healthcare access, and community-based interventions across Africa. We examine spatial patterns in maternal mortality, access to healthcare facilities, and the effectiveness of community health programs.
Environmental Health
We conduct comprehensive air quality monitoring, study climate-health interactions, and assess environmental exposure using advanced spatial methods. Our research helps identify environmental risk factors and their impact on population health.
Geospatial Analysis
Our GIS applications, remote sensing, and spatial data science capabilities enable us to conduct health and environmental research across diverse African contexts, providing critical insights for policy and intervention design.
Machine Learning & AI
We employ predictive modeling, deep learning applications, and AI-driven solutions to address complex health and environmental challenges, creating innovative tools for decision-making and intervention planning.
Community Engagement
Our participatory research approach involves communities, policymakers, and institutions to ensure our work is relevant, inclusive, and drives real-world impact through community-based interventions and capacity building.
Current Research Projects
PRECISE — PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science Everywhere
The PRECISE Network is a broadly-based group of research scientists and health advocates mainly based in the UK and Africa, including the World Health Organization. PALs lead the health geography component and aims to understand geographical influences on placental disorders of pregnancy — including hypertension, fetal growth restriction, and stillbirth — across the Gambia, Mozambique, and Kenya. Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF).
CHEAQI-MNCH — Climate, Health, Environment, Air Quality, and Maternal and Neonatal Child Health
This innovative data science project quantifies the current and future impacts of air pollution on maternal and neonatal health in sub-Saharan Africa. Air pollution is a leading contributor to the global disease burden — a crucial concern as air quality across sub-Saharan Africa significantly deteriorates with accelerated urbanization, industrialization, and population growth. The project focuses on the synergistic association between heat waves and air pollution, developing adaptive interventions for vulnerable populations. Partners include NIH, Wellcome Trust, WITS, HE²AT Centre, and University of California Berkeley.
ETIQUET — Extrapolating Temperature and Air Quality Exposure in Space and Time
A groundbreaking initiative addressing the persistent scarcity of environmental exposure data in sub-Saharan Africa. ETIQUET develops scalable, scientifically rigorous models to estimate exposure to air pollution (PM₂.₅, NO₂) and temperature at a daily resolution across unsampled locations. The project integrates high-resolution satellite data, portable and ambient sensor networks, and epidemiological surveillance datasets using spatio-temporal kriging, land use regression, and semi-supervised deep learning pipelines. Partners: HE²AT Centre, WITS University, Midlands State University.
CHEAQI Landscape Fire Smoke Supplement — Fire Smoke & Birth Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the most fire-affected region globally, responsible for nearly 70% of the world's burned area each year — with 41% of fires being agricultural. This NIH-funded supplement addresses the critical knowledge gap in fire smoke exposure and birth outcomes in Africa. The project integrates SILAM atmospheric composition data with machine learning algorithms and distributed lag models to assess fire smoke exposure patterns and their health impacts on maternal and child health. Partners: NIH, WITS, Finnish Meteorological Institute.