Hilary is an environmental epidemiologist and bioanthropologist researching the health impacts of global heating, especially on more vulnerable populations, and has expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of adaptation strategies.
She is Professor and Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University in Canberra. She has consulted for WHO and UNDP on risk assessments and climate adaptation strategies for health, and for governments in Australia and overseas, and she led the health impacts assessment for Australia’s national climate change review (The Garnaut Review, 2008). She is a lead author on the joint Medical Journal of Australia - Lancet 'Countdown on Health and Climate Change’ series.
Hilary has worked on risk and vulnerability assessments, national health systems resilience and community-based adaptation projects, including in the remote Pacific, Asia, and in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Areas of interest and expertise include extreme weather, vector-borne disease, food safety and security, the built environment, and health systems. Hilary advocates for the rapid and well-planned energy transition away from fossil fuels to protect health, now and in the future.
