Cathryn Tonne Receives the 2022 Tony McMichael Mid-Term Career Award

ISGlobal researcher Cathryn Tonne has received the 2022 Tony Mc Michael Mid-Term Career Award by the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), for her innovative and independent research in environmental epidemiology and her meaningful contributions to mentoring and teaching. 

The award was created in memory of Dr. Tony McMichael, a renowned environmental epidemiologist known not only for his scientific work but also for his mentoring of junior colleagues. It recognises professionals “that possess the same qualities as Dr. McMichael”, including excellence in environmental epidemiology research, promoting novel areas of research, mentoring graduate and postgraduate students, and promoting translation of research results into environmental health policy. 

“I had the privilege of working with him [McMichael] on the 2009 Lancet series on health co-benefits of tackling climate change. He has been an inspiration for me since,” says Cathryn Tonne.

Tonne’s work focuses on the health effects of air pollution from traffic and household sources. Her research has investigated exposure patterns and health effects of air pollution in high- as well as low- and middle-income countries and the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation via reducing air pollution. She leads the working group focused on mitigation actions and health co-benefits for the Lancet Countdown for Health and Climate Change in Europe and is a member of the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Air Pollution and Health. She led the European Research Council funded project Cardiovascular Health effects of Air pollution in Telangana, India and is coordinator of CATALYSE, a Horizon Europe project focused on climate change and health.

The winners of the 2022 ISEE awards were announced on September 21, 2022, during the society’s annual conference in Athens, Greece.