Joanne McKell: Hello, and welcome to this podcast from the ATS Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health Assembly, EOPH. I'm the podcast host, Joanne McKell, MD, from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. I am pleased to introduce Mary B. Rice, MD. Master of Public Health, who serves as the director of

Joanne McKell: the Center for Climate Change, Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Chan C-Change, and she is the Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Respiratory Health at Harvard, T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Joanne McKell: She's the Director of the Institute for Lung Health and Director of Research for the Division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She's an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Joanne McKell: She's a principal investigator and collaborator on multiple NIH-funded research studies focused on pollution, climate, and respiratory health.

Joanne McKell: She has previous leadership roles, including chairing the Environmental Health Policy Committee of the ATS and serving on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, CASAC, until January 2025.

Joanne McKell: Relevant to this podcast, she is starting her year as the EOPH Assembly chair. She's already spent a year as co-chair with the Past Assembly chair. Dr. Allison Bauer. So welcome, Dr. Rice, to the EOPH Assembly Podcast. Thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewed. I know you've been very busy since you assumed the leadership of EOPH. And this is just a quick visit to let the Assembly membership get to know you.

Joanne McKell: How are you doing today?

Mary Rice: Good. Thank you so much for having me, Joanne.

Joanne McKell: That's great. It's great to be here.

Joanne McKell: Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? And what sparked your interest in climate and environmental health?

Mary Rice: Well, I'm originally from the US. But I spent much of my childhood in the Netherlands and Singapore, and growing up in Holland, which is a very small, environmentally conscious country where people bike to school and work, and reuse shopping bags, is where I developed my interest in environment and sustainability. And that's what led me to study environmental science and public policy as an undergraduate

Mary Rice: And in college, actually, my 1st job out of college was not in science or medicine. I worked at a management consulting firm in New York City. I learned a lot about strategic planning, but I found that I really loved science.

Mary Rice: And I wanted to do something with more impact on people and the public.

Mary Rice: And that was why I decided to pursue a career in medicine, actually, with environmental health already

Mary Rice: on my mind, right from the beginning.

Joanne McKell: uh huh.

Mary Rice: Before I started medical school, I worked at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health.

Mary Rice: and that experience really solidified my interest in environmental exposures, and how they affect the health of vulnerable populations.

Mary Rice: And so I chose pulmonary medicine as my specialty, because the lungs are so directly affected by air pollution and other environmental hazards.

Mary Rice: So I started my research career studying how air pollution infects the lungs, and over time, my work, increasingly focused on climate-related exposures, including heat, smoke, pollen, extreme weather.

Mary Rice: which, as you know, have become more severe and fossil fuel combustion drives both air, pollution, and climate change. So there's a clear opportunity to improve both health

Mary Rice: through improved air quality and also avoided climate change.

Joanne McKell: Yeah. And you certainly have been a leader in that. I mean, you hold so many leadership roles in the environmental respiratory health sphere. What factors played a role in your decision to lead the EOPH assembly?

Mary Rice: Well, I can trace my motivation for engaging further with the ATS, and my decision to pursue leadership of this assembly, really, to my earliest experiences with EOPH through the Environmental Health Policy Committee, which is an ATS-wide Committee, I joined as a junior faculty member right out of fellowship, and that experience working on this committee was a real turning point in my career. I was working with colleagues

Mary Rice: on that committee together. It really showed me the power of working collectively as a professional society to translate science into policy and for real solutions for our patients.

Mary Rice: And you know, I got involved through formal, regulatory comments, multidisciplinary workshops that synthesize the evidence for patient care, policy, legal briefs, expert testimony to Congress on behalf of the ATS.

Mary Rice: and through that, I could really see how our research could have a direct impact on public health beyond the clinic or the lab. And really, the instrumental role that our professional society can play in making that happen.

Mary Rice: And it has really been my scientific and social home within the ATS. It's a place where I have found inspiration and new ideas, and rewarding collaborations with colleagues.

Mary Rice: As you mentioned, I've served on a number of our assembly committees over the years, and I've seen the breadth and quality of our Environmental Occupational Population health research through the work of our program committee, which

Mary Rice: curates the scientific submissions into engaging sessions at the Annual Conference and the work of our planning committee, which reviews workshops and statements and recognizes the outstanding achievements of our colleagues through our Assembly awards.

Mary Rice: And I've also seen how our early career professional group brings in new scientists and supports their careers.

Mary Rice: And many of our assembly leaders, including myself, got their start through that early career professional group. And that's how they got

Mary Rice: 1st engaged with our assembly. And so for me, these experiences really deepened my appreciation for EOPH's role in bridging science to impact and fostering that community that really spans

Mary Rice: academic careers, and it made me want to contribute more.

Joanne McKell: Okay, great, great. And so

Joanne McKell: This might seem like a little bit of a simplistic question. But in broad strokes, what does an ATS assembly chair do?

Mary Rice: One of the most meaningful aspects of the role is the opportunity to support and coordinate the work of all of the EOPH committees and working groups, one of which you lead. So the chair helps ensure alignment and communication across our program committee.

Mary Rice: which, as I mentioned, organizes all the scientific sessions, you know, organizes those abstracts into symposia, the planning committee that looks at proposals for workshops, and award candidates. The early career professional working group, which supports

Mary Rice: trainees and junior faculty, the web and communications team that you lead, which enhances engagement of our membership.

Mary Rice: And we have a number of sections which represent unique areas like terrorism and inhalational disasters, basic and translational science, and innovation. And so, as Chair, my role is to work closely with all of these groups to help us set priorities, foster collaboration, and ensure EOPH continues to thrive as an inclusive academic home for Assembly members

Mary Rice: who are working on environmental occupational population health issues.

Mary Rice: And I would add that--and this is a little bit new to the ATS--There is a council of the ATS.

Mary Rice: That includes all of the assembly chairs and incoming chairs and committee leaders. And that Council ensures connection between our Assembly and the ATS leadership.

Mary Rice: And last year, actually, the Council of the ATS met quarterly. But now, going forward, at least for the foreseeable future, we're meeting monthly in the coming year, and that's in response to the,

Mary Rice: quite frankly, the greater need for communication to address the many efforts at the Federal level to reduce funding for science and weaken public health protections. So we're finding that it's important to stay in touch with each other.

Joanne McKell: What are your goals for the upcoming year?

Joanne McKell: You kind of mentioned a few. What would you be prioritizing?

Mary Rice: Well, one of my main goals for the coming year is again to enhance engagement from our assembly members, and that means engagement across a broader geographic spectrum. If you look historically, participation from our assembly has been skewed towards coastal and northern cities.

Mary Rice: And I want to ensure our work reflects the diverse experiences and expertise of our members across the country and beyond. And so, to do this, I plan to test some new platforms for communication and planning that will make it easier for our members to engage and coordinate with each other.

Mary Rice: Another key priority I would highlight is improving science communication, especially at a time

Mary Rice: when public trust in science and research is under pressure.

Mary Rice: And so one way I plan to address this is, in fact, through working with you and your team—this podcast series.

Mary Rice: which

Mary Rice: you know, can highlight the work of our members at all career stages. It can help make our research more accessible, more engaging for broader audiences.

Mary Rice: And I'm really committed to fostering a stronger sense of community within EOPH. I believe that sense of community is already quite strong as I mentioned. It's what got me so engaged, but I really think it's more important now than ever—more regular communication with our Assembly members throughout the year, building spaces for connection at the International Conference.

Mary Rice: and I want to support our Assembly leaders putting together an outstanding conference program in 2026. You know that showcases the cutting-edge science that we do emphasizes

Mary Rice: policy, translation, and impact, and really reflects that collaborative spirit of our assembly.

Joanne McKell: And one thing you mentioned-- communication.

Mary Rice: uh huh.

Joanne McKell: Discussing communication and fostering engagement

Joanne McKell: makes me think of something that you presented the ATS Assembly meeting back in May, and you actually introduced a guest speaker called Moira O'Neill. She actually is the president of research interpretation from the Frameworks Institute, and she introduced the concept of framing.

Joanne McKell: Would you be willing to clarify that?

Mary Rice: Together with Alison Bauer, we invited this guest Speaker, Moira O’Neill, who's a social scientist by training and specializes in science communication, to talk to our assembly, because we really wanted our assembly members and ourselves to hear new perspectives on how to communicate more effectively, especially around

Mary Rice: environmental health topics that we study that can be very polarizing.

Mary Rice: Climate change is perfect example of this right. It's become so politicized in the US. And yet the health hazards of climate change aggravated respiratory illness from

Mary Rice: wildfire smoke, heat, related morbidity. The elderly. Those are very real and growing problems. And so we hope that this session would help us all become-

Mary Rice: you know, wouldn't turn us into experts. But it would help us become better science communicators by exploring how to frame the science and the policy issues in ways that might resonate across different perspectives.

Mary Rice: And what I learned from Moira the power of framing environmental health discussions around shared values like prosperity

Mary Rice: rather than focusing on messages of vulnerability and harm.

Mary Rice: And if we can, if we can frame around that shared value, that we all want prosperity, a healthier future. That shift in framing can open up conversations, and it can foster engagement.

Mary Rice: And so as chair. I intend to continue to prioritize and share communication strategies. I'm sure there are many approaches and many models of success that we can learn from to try to make our work more impactful by helping us connect with diverse audiences, from policymakers to our patients, and also the public.

Joanne McKell:

Joanne McKell: Is this a new initiative that you're starting?

Mary Rice: Well, I had gotten to know Myra and her Institute actually through my own work at Harvard University. And so that's how I made that connection. And so, the story is really that we felt that at this juncture, in time we need to, we need to think about other ways of framing our research. So it isn't polarizing. And so that's why we invited her. Yeah.

Joanne McKell: It was very interesting.

Mary Rice: Thank you.

Joanne McKell: In addition to your various leadership roles, you continue to practice as a pulmonary physician.

Joanne McKell: Treating chronic lung disease. So how does that work with all of your leadership positions? Do they inform your clinical practice, or does your clinical practice inform your leadership, or is it a combination of the 2?

Mary Rice: Well, I do still practice pulmonary medicine. I have a clinic in the low-resource community of Chelsea, Massachusetts, which, historically, has been disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards.

Mary Rice: And it's a general pulmonary clinic. So I treat patients with

Mary Rice: with severe asthma, COPD, and interstitial lung disease.

Mary Rice: many of whom suffer from conditions that are at least in part preventable. And

Mary Rice: the relationships that I build with my patients are really meaningful to me, as I'm sure they are to all of our clinical members of our assembly, and they really continually inform my perspective.

Mary Rice: and I think, like

Mary Rice: many other members of our assembly, my work in clinical care does shape my research questions. I can give you an example.

Mary Rice: I’m seeing how patients with the eosinophilic subtype of

Mary Rice: COPD, this is a subtype I've been

Mary Rice: screening for in my clinical practice. This led me to investigate their vulnerability to air pollution, and I found in my own work that they appear to be more susceptible to particulate matter pollution, and that led to designing a randomized controlled trial, evaluating the impact of air purifiers in that particular subtype.

Mary Rice: And

Mary Rice: you know, it's through this day-to-day work as a clinician that I witness both the burdens of environmental harms and the potential for evidence-based interventions to actually make a real difference in patients' lives.

Mary Rice: And so I see my leadership roles as helping me connect the dots between individual health, community needs, and broader systems.

Mary Rice: And what I think is really wonderful about the American Thoracic Society is that it gives us a platform to promote policies and research that our patients need.

Mary Rice: We can carry those stories. I carry those stories of my patients with me.

Mary Rice: and to other conversations about air, pollution, and climate and health.

Mary Rice: You know it's a challenging time.

Mary Rice: And challenge. Many challenges are mounting. But

Mary Rice: I am an optimist. I'm very hopeful. And I really do believe that the integration of science and policy and clinical care is going to continue to lead to a healthier

Mary Rice: and more prosperous future.

Joanne McKell: Yeah, I couldn't agree more, you have to be optimist to persevere.

Mary Rice: um hmm.

Joanne McKell: and persevere to make change. So I recognize those traits in you, and I also really appreciate you taking the time.

Joanne McKell: Dr. Rice.

Joanne McKell: It's gonna be a good year.

Mary Rice: Thank you so much, Dr. McKell. Thank you, Joanne.

Joanne McKell: Have a great day.

Mary Rice: You too. Bye, bye.

Joanne McKell: Bye.