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CIRCE:Medicine

​​​​​​CIRCE:Medicine is a subcommittee of the University-wide Faculty Senate Select Committee on the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency (“CIRCE”). We aim to increase the role of all healthcare providers across the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in combating the climate crisis, in line with CIRCE’s mission. Our group is specifically dedicated to taking action against climate change through the lens of healthcare – through its education, research, and advocacy – with the ultimate goal of decreasing the carbon footprint of our health system. 

Updates and Announcements

Section updated July 2022

  • William Braham
  • The AMA recently declared climate change to be a public health crisis: see announcement.
  • The Perelman SOM recently released a Planetary Health Statement regarding its commitment to combating climate change and reducing its carbon footprint.
  • Congratulations to Dr. Farah Hussain (Hospital Medicine), who was recently appointed as the inaugural Director of Planetary Health Curriculum for the Perelman School of Medicine! This is a huge step towards teaching tomorrow’s physicians all the ways that climate change is already affecting our lives.
  • The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is a major victory for those advocating for climate action, though much remains to be done. Read this article detailing how it affects health and health professionals.
  • Congrats to CHOP on its membership in Practice Greenhealth, a national organization supporting hundreds of hospitals in making their transition towards low carbon/sustainable operations.
  • We have a Twitter handle! Follow us @med_penn (Penn Med Climate Action)
Get Involved

CIRCE:Medicine is a select subcommittee of the University of Pennsylvania Faculty Senate.  We welcome your contacting us (below) to request more information and to get involved. In particular:

  • CIRCE:Medicine is looking for faculty members interested in climate/sustainability projects in the following areas (not limited to these – please write us if you have another area of interest not listed here):
  • A Penn Nursing faculty member is looking for faculty interested in joining a working group aimed at creating a working definition and measurement of the mental health impacts of climate change
  • A Penn Engineering faculty member has convened a workgroup centered around improving energy efficiency and ‘weatherizing’ the homes of patients in the PHL area and is looking for physician liaisons to help guide ways to capture these patients peri-discharge. 
  • Consider joining the 600+ signatories of the Penn Faculty Climate Pledge

We welcome your contacting us:

  • Patrick Walsh, Executive Assistant to the University Faculty Senate
    walshjam @ upenn.edu
  • Misha Rosenbach, Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
    misha.rosenbach @ pennmedicine.upenn.edu
  • Hari Shankar, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine: Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
    hari.shankar @ pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
  • The NIH has a recently announced focus on climate/health, and last year announced opportunities for funding for projects that address the impact of climate change on health. The next proposal deadline will likely be summer 2023. 
  • CleanMed is the premier national conference on sustainability in healthcare; taking place May 23-25, 2023 in Pittsburgh. Learn more here.
  • Penn Climate Week 2022 was October 10 to 14: An archive of events with recordings is available on-demand. 
  • Check out Climate Clinic, a new climate/health focused podcast from the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University.
Current Membership

Subcommittee Co-Chairs:  

  • Misha Rosenbach, Professor of Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Hari Shankar, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine: Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine

Subcommittee Members and Collaborators:

  • Cherry Abdou, Resident, Clinical Care and Anesthesiology
  • Eleanor Anderson, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
  • John Berger, Resident, Clinical Care and Anesthesiology
  • Lorraine Boakye, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Linda Crossette, Director of Clinical Research Operations,Gynecologic Oncology Clinical Research Unit
  • Katharine Dalke, Benjamin Rush Associate Professor in Psychiatry
  • Caoimhe Duffy, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Holly Elser, Resident, Neurology
  • Jeffrey Feldman, Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care
  • Harrison Goodall, Resident, Family Medicine and Community Health
  • Erum Hartung, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Fred Henretig, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics
  • Farah Hussain, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
  • Rebecca Isserman, Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care
  • Dina Jacobs, Associate Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Ashlie Jefferson, Innovation Care Program Manager, Department of Neurology
  • Sarah Kagan, Professor of Gerontological Nursing
  • Joshua Kepner, Energy Manager, Penn Medicine
  • Sameed Khatana, Assistant Professor of Medicine
  • Irene Khavin, Biospecimen Lab Manager, Cancer Center
  • Kirstin Knox, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
  • Amy Kogon, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Harleen Marwah, Resident in Pediatrics
  • Michael McGarvey, Associate Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Mark McShane, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellow, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Ty Muhly, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Anne Reilly, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
  • David Resnick, Senior Innovation Manager, Acceleration Lab, Center for Health Care Innovation
  • Lauren Simonds, Clinical Pharmacist, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
  • Julia Tchou, Professor of Clinical Surgery
  • Michelle Walker, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine: Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
  • Sarah Wood, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Ian Yuan, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
CIRCE: Medicine – Meeting Schedule

Currently, CIRCE:Medicine meets via Zoom on the first Thursday of each month during the 12:00pm ET (Noon) hour.  All faculty and staff of UPHS, CPUP, and CHOP (and, more broadly, from Penn) are welcomed to observe meetings.

Please write to senate@pobox.upenn.edu to request a Zoom link.

Upcoming meetings:

  • Thursday, May 2, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, June 6, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, July 11, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, August 8, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, September 5, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, October 3, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, November 7, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET
  • Thursday, December 5, 2024, 12:00-1:00pm ET

More information about CIRCE, including its public reports, are available here.