CARO S PARK
Humanist, environmentalist, terrible darts-thrower, and slightly better researcher
ABOUT
A native of Whippany, New Jersey, I received my undergraduate at Harvard, where I studied the effects of maternal malnutrition on fetal development at the Cowan Laboratory of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. An avid traveler, I've also worked on various humanitarian projects throughout Southeast Asia and southern Africa. Upon graduation, I received a Fulbright Anne Wexler Scholarship that supported my move to Melbourne, where I began my research on the intersection of climate change and public health, specifically focusing on how vulnerable populations respond to climate-influenced food insecurity. I am now back at Harvard and continuing my research in planetary health -- or the study of how we shape the health of the world, and how the world shapes the health of us.
EDUCATION
Aug 2019 - May 2023 (expected)
PhD student in Population Health Sciences, with a focus in Environmental Health. Sub-specialties: climate change and statistics
HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Nov 2017 - July 2020
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Master of Philosophy in Medicine. Supported by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, and the Australian-German Climate and Energy College.
Sept 2013 - May 2017
Bachelor of Arts in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology, with a secondary in Economics.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Current and planned projects
VULNERABILITIES OF THE GLOBAL FOOD TRADE
When a major crop fails in one country, how is that food source substituted? How is the intricate web of global trade (or food aid) implicated in ensuring nutrient security for the most vulnerable? And how will it change with a changing climate?
EFFECT OF DROUGHT ON AGRICULTURAL YIELDS
Does drought affect the production of foods important for micronutrient health in the developing world, such as potatoes and cassava? And if so, does that translate into measurable health outcomes?
CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN AN INCREASINGLY CRISIS-IFIED WORLD
When multiple crises occur simultaneously (i.e. COVID-19 and drought in South Africa), how do we prioritize our response? When conflict, migration, and poverty are all implicated with climate change, how can we measure the effects and outcomes of crises and crisis management?
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
of a short and not-yet-storied career
COVER STORY FOR LANCET PLANETARY HEALTH
October 2019
Park, C. S., Vogel, E., Larson, L. M., Myers, S. S., Daniel, M., & Biggs, B. A. (2019). The global effect of extreme weather events on nutrient supply: a superposed epoch analysis. The Lancet Planetary Health, 3(10), e429-e438.
REPRESENTATIVE FOR REGIONAL FULBRIGHT
March 2019
I was selected by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to represent Australia at the Regional East Asian and Pacific Fulbrighter Workshop, hosted by the U.S. Department of State in Taipei, Taiwan, where I also presented my research.
HITTING THE AIRWAVES IN AUSTRALIA
November 2017
I was a guest on The Conversation Hour with Jon Faine, a daily talk show on ABC Radio Melbourne. Accompanying the leaders of Victoria's resiliency and emergency services, I spoke briefly about research on extreme weather events and nutrition.
"Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something.
You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet."
Carl Sagan
