Julia M. Gohlke

Julia M. Gohlke is a Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech. Her work focuses on the human health implications of global environmental change, disaster risk assessment, and innovative methods for understanding environmental health impacts. She holds a PhD in Environmental Health from the University of Washington (2004), an MS from the same institution (2001), and a BS in Biology from the University of Michigan (1997).

Her research explores topics such as flood-related health outcomes, methane emissions from oil and gas operations, and heat exposure disparities. She has held roles including AAAS Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of State and Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Her interdisciplinary work integrates environmental epidemiology, geospatial analysis, and community engagement.

Key areas of focus include:

• Climate change and health vulnerability
• Disaster risk communication and mitigation
• Bioinformatic approaches to environmental health
• Public health policy for air and water quality

Her research group (Gohlke Research Group) collaborates on projects combining synthetic population modeling, remote sensing, and community-driven solutions to address environmental health challenges. Recent work emphasizes heat index exposure metrics, flood-associated emergency department visits, and maternal-child health outcomes in high-risk regions.