Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Through his research, writing, and leadership of the Planetary Health Alliance and Institute for Planetary Health, Sam Myers, MD, MPH is a pioneer in developing and growing the field of Planetary Health.
Research Interests
Planetary Health: Impacts of large-scale, anthropogenic environmental change including climate change, biodiversity loss, land use change, pollution, and deterioration of ecosystem services on human health; consequences of global environmental change to human nutrition and the impact of food systems on the global environment. Health impacts of transgressing Planetary Boundaries.
Experiences & Accomplishments
Sam Myers is interested in policy interventions to improve human health while stabilizing Earth’s natural systems. As Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health and the Planetary Health Alliance, Myers oversees multi-institutional efforts (over 466 organizations in over 78 countries) focused on understanding and quantifying the human health impacts of global environmental change and translating that understanding into action globally. He is the co-editor with Howard Frumkin of "Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves," which was voted one of the 25 Best Books of All Time by American Journal of Health Promotion in 2021. Myers has authored over 100 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.
Prior to joining Johns Hopkins University, Myers was a Principal Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His projects include exploring the human nutritional consequences of rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere, falling populations of pollinating insects, changes in global fisheries in response to ocean warming, and impacts of climate shocks and market responses on food security in Africa. For his research, Myers as the inaugural recipient of the Arrell Global Food Innovation Award in 2018 and Prince Albert II of Monaco prize for research at the interface of health and environment in 2015.
Honors & Awards
- Arrell Global Food Innovation Award, May 2018
- Prince Albert II of Monaco—Institut Pasteur Award, Nov 2015
Select Publications
Myers SS, Zanobetti A, Kloog I, Huybers P, Leakey AD, Bloom AJ, Carlisle E, Dietterich LH, Fitzgerald G, Hasegawa T, Holbrook NM, Nelson RL, Ottman MJ, Raboy V, Sakai H, Sartor, KA, Schwartz J, Seneweera S, Tausz M, Usui Y. Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition, Nature. 2014 Jun 5;510(7503):139-42. Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition - PubMed (nih.gov)
Smith, M. R. and S. S. Myers (2018). "Impact of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on global human nutrition." Nature Climate Change 8(9): 834-839. Impact of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on global human nutrition | Nature Climate Change
Smith MR, Mueller ND, Springmann M, Sulser TB, Garibaldi LA, Gerber J, Wiebe K, Myers SS. Pollinator Deficits, Food Consumption, and Consequences for Human Health: A Modeling Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2022 Dec;130(12):127003. Pollinator Deficits, Food Consumption, and Consequences for Human Health: A Modeling Study - PubMed (nih.gov)
Myers S, Fanzo J, Wiebe K, Huybers P, Smith M. Current guidance underestimates risk of global environmental change to food security. BMJ. 2022 Sep 29;378:e071533. Current guidance underestimates risk of global environmental change to food security - PubMed (nih.gov)
Myers, S. S. (2017). "Planetary health: protecting human health on a rapidly changing planet." The Lancet 390(10114): 2860-2868. Planetary health: protecting human health on a rapidly changing planet - The Lancet