Aparna Lal

Dr. Aparna Lal is a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health within the Research School of Population Health at Australian National University (ANU). Her work bridges public health with environmental science, focusing on spatial epidemiology and climate change impacts.

• Education: BSc (Hons) Zoology, MSc Wildlife Science (India), PhD Public Health (University of Otago, New Zealand)
• Teaching: Convenes the Master of Public Health course on Human Health, Environment and Climate Change; lectures in Master of Demography and Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) programs.

Her research examines how physical environments affect human health through:

• Integrating public health surveillance with remote sensing and environmental monitoring
• Developing spatial-temporal models to predict disease patterns
• Studying zoonotic disease transmission at human-wildlife interfaces
• Investigating urban blue-green spaces' health co-benefits

Recent publications show thematic focus on:

• Quantifying environmental health risks
• Climate-disease linkages
• Water quality and recreational health impacts
• Geospatial decision support tools
• Energy efficiency co-benefits

Current projects include:

• AU$8.5M geospatial toolkit for environmental risk assessment
• Energy efficiency spatial mapping initiative
• ACT blue-green infrastructure analysis
• Pacific Island climate-health surveillance systems