Shao Lin

Dr. Shao Lin serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences within the College of Integrated Health Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY. With over 30 years of environmental health expertise, she transitioned from leadership roles at the New York State Department of Health (1990-2015) to academia in 2015, maintaining active research and policy engagement.

Education:

• Ph.D., Epidemiology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• M.P.H., Epidemiology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Residency: Preventive Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
• M.D., Sun Yet-Sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou

Her research pioneers climate change health impacts, having initiated extreme heat studies in 2007 when few existed. She investigates ultrafine particle health effects, disaster epidemiology (including foundational 9/11 residential health studies), and school environmental factors affecting children's attendance. Her work identifies critical vulnerabilities in low-SES communities and informs state/federal adaptation policies through 30+ grants and 250+ publications.

Dr. Lin's team publishes 15-20 papers annually in top environmental health journals, with recent climate change findings generating significant media coverage (CNN, Reuters, Time Magazine). She serves as Principal Investigator for NIH/CDC-funded projects examining maternal heat exposure, policy modification effects on PM2.5 health impacts, and personal exposure monitoring.

Research Leadership:

• Developed NYSDOH climate adaptation plans using vulnerability maps
• Advised US Congress/White House as National Climate Expert Panelist
• Created first mental health keyword lists for NYSDOH syndromic surveillance
• Collaborates with Atmospheric Science Research Center and Rochester University

As an educator, she teaches graduate courses in climate change epidemiology, environmental health methods, and grant writing, emphasizing policy-relevant research translation. Her mentorship focuses on preparing students for high-impact publications in environmental epidemiology.