Kari C Nadeau
John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies
Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Departments
Department of Environmental Health
Other Positions
Chair, Department of Environmental Health
Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Professor of Medicine
Medicine-Beth Israel Deaconess, Harvard Medical School
Related Links
Biography
Kari C. Nadeau is a world recognized physician-scientist and leader in medicine. She is the Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health and John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies. She is also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Allergy, Climate, and Exposomics Laboratory. She is also adjunct professor at Stanford University in the Department of Pediatrics. She practices Allergy, Asthma, Immunology in children and adults as a physician at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and Clinics and Latitude Clinics across the U.S. She is formerly the Nadissy Foundation Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Sean N Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma at Stanford University School of Medicine. She founded the Julia and David Koch Clinic at the Center. Dr. Nadeau was also Clinical Director, Section Chief, Senior Director of Clinical Research, and Medical Director in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University. Dr. Nadeau is a current member of the National Academy of Medicine, the WHO Air Pollution and Health Scientific Advisory Group (SAG),and the U.S. EPA Children’s Health Protection Committee. She holds leadership positions at many boards and institutions, including undergraduate, graduate, and medical schools.
Dr. Nadeau and her team perform research in the prevention and therapy of disease. She also launched four biotech companies, and founded the Climate Change and Health Equity Task Force and started the Sustainability Health Seed Grant initiative. She has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. EPA. She works as a member of the UNEA through Harvard to work on environmental health and planetary health governance and policy. She is also a member of the Center for the Early Development of the Child scientific committee at Harvard.
Early Life and Training
Nadeau was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. After graduating from Haverford College Summa Cum Laude with a degree in biology, Nadeau attended Harvard Medical School via the Medical Scientist Training Program (NIH), and received a PhD in biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology from Harvard Medical School and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1995. She then started an internship and residency in pediatrics. From 1998 to 2002, she worked in industry, in the field of biopharmaceuticals and led clinical research to obtain FDA approval for two biologics in the field of Autoimmunity and Oncology, respectively. From 2003 to 2006, Nadeau was a resident and a fellow in Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology. She also did a postdoctoral fellowship in human immune tolerance mechanisms. She received a certificate in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2022 and a certificate in Health Care Strategy from Harvard Business School in 2025. Nadeau is married and has five children. She enjoys running and outdoor activities.
Career and Some Leadership Roles (past and current)
Some Leadership Positions
Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (since January 2023), where she is also the John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies.
Director, Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University—she founded and led this interdisciplinary research hub that defined cutting-edge approaches in allergy and asthma.
Section Chief, Asthma and Allergy, Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Division, Stanford.
Co-chair, Advisory Council, Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
Appointed Member, U.S. Federal Wildfire Commission (2022)—works on impacts of wildfire and climate change on health.
Board Member, Haverford Board of Managers
Member, Council on Education, Harvard Medical School
Chair, Climate Change and Health Equity Task Force, Stanford Medicine.
Board Member or Advisor: U.S. EPA Children’s Health Protection Committee, Scientific Advisory Board of WHO, Board of Scientific Counselors for the NIH Clinical Center.
Some Director and Clinical Leadership Roles
Medical Director, Stanford Allergy and Immunology Clinics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
Faculty Member, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard.
Director, Harvard Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment.
Founder of 4 Biotech Companies focused on immunology and allergy treatment.
Some Teaching and Academic Appointments
Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Stanford University
Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford University.
Professor of Epidemiology (by courtesy), Stanford University.
Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health a
Professor at Harvard Medical School,
She developed and taught novel courses connecting climate change and health, and regularly mentors medical and graduate students, postdocs, and professionals worldwide.
Education
Dr. Nadeau has prioritized training, mentoring and advising others since 1990. She started the International Student Association at HMS to send Medical Students to other countries for community-engaged learning. In started to mentor and advise other MD and MD-PhD students and undergraduates as part of her lab and the premed program at Stanford. She has been actively teaching at all levels of medical school (first year through 4th year) and actively teaches in the school of public health. She also mentors PhD students and high school students interested in research careers. She is on the Education Council at Harvard Medical School. She co chaired the Education Working Group at Harvard School of Public Health. Her department started the PRISM program for post doctoral fellows and research scientists to help mentor, advise and support fellows in their research and careers. In addition, she continues to focus to help support undergraduates at many institutions. She is on the Board of Managers at Haverford College and is deeply committed to education and training.
Honors and Awards
Elected to National Academy of Medicine (2022).
Elected to American Association of Physicians (2019).
Elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation (2015).
Fellow, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
Distinguished Lecture Award, NIEHS (2014).
McCormick Award, Stanford Medicine (2008).
Parker B. Francis Fellowship and Faculty Award (2006).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) STAR Grant Award (2010).
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) Recognition.
American Lung Association Honors.
2023 Asian Pacific Association for Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Women in Science Award.
2023 Richard F. Lockey Lectureship, AAAAI Foundation.
2023 Paul Ehrlich International Award for Research.
EPA Children’s Health Protection Committee Member.
Clinical and Translational Science Award from the NIH.
Numerous invitations as Plenary and Distinguished Speaker at national/international conferences, including TEDx, Gordon Research Conferences, and medical society panels.
