Kari Nadeau, a physician‑scientist known for work on allergies, environmental exposures, and climate‑related health risks, has been named dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She will take up the post on July 1, 2026, returning to California from a leadership role on the East Coast. The hire gives UCLA a nationally recognized researcher to lead public‑health training and research as wildfire and air‑quality challenges remain prominent in the region.
UCLA announced Tuesday in a newsroom release that Nadeau will lead Fielding beginning this summer; Andrea Baccarelli praised her experience, and Nadeau said her “career has prepared me to build on the Fielding School’s excellence in research, education, and community impact.” In a press release via UCLA Newsroom, the university said the appointment followed an external search for the next dean.
Research, climate health, and advisory roles
Since 2022, Nadeau has served as chair of the Department of Environmental Health and John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she directs the Allergy, Extreme Weather and Exposomics Laboratory and has published more than 400 scientific papers. Her work spans immunology, environmental‑exposure science, and climate‑related health threats; she has advised national and international bodies on wildfire and air‑quality risks and served on panels such as the U.S. EPA children’s protection committee. The Harvard Salata Institute profiles Nadeau’s roles, and Harvard Chan has detailed her leadership on the LA fires research effort in coverage from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Local wildfire study and UCLA ties
The appointment strengthens UCLA’s ties to a major regional research effort: the Los Angeles Fire Human Exposure and Long‑Term Health (L.A. Fire HEALTH) Study, a multi‑institution consortium that includes Harvard, UCLA, Cedars‑Sinai, USC, Stanford, UC Davis, and others, and is tracking pollutants and health outcomes after the 2025 wildfires. The study’s website lays out its goals and early data briefs, and researchers on the consortium have begun publishing findings and guidance for affected communities, according to the LA Fire HEALTH Study.
Leadership transition at Fielding
Nadeau will succeed Ron Brookmeyer, who has served as dean of the Fielding School since 2020 after an interim assignment beginning in 2018. UCLA said Brookmeyer led the school through recent challenges and that Nadeau’s record in research, education, and partnership building made her the top candidate to lead Fielding into its next phase, according to UCLA Newsroom.
For Los Angeles, the hire signals a boost to Fielding’s environmental‑health profile and a likely emphasis on translating wildfire and air‑quality science into local policy and preparedness. Nadeau’s arrival in July will be one of the first items to watch as the school lines up faculty, curriculum, and research priorities under new leadership.
