Daniel Katz

My goal is to generate the ecological knowledge necessary to address plant-related public health problems. To do so, I measure ecological processes using field studies, scale from individual plants to landscapes with remote sensing, and combine these into models related to ecosystem services and disservices.

Much of my lab's research focuses on modeling airborne pollen concentrations by identifying plants with remote sensing, quantifying pollen production, measuring and modeling reproductive phenology, assessing exposure, and analyzing health outcomes such as asthma-related emergency department visits. Current projects include developing a model of allergenic pollen concentrations in Texas funded by NASA, assessing the accuracy of commercial pollen forecasts, and developing airborne pollen models at national scales. I also investigate how trees keep cities cool during heat waves and how we can best leverage those effects to prevent heat-related morbidity. These interdisciplinary projects include methods from ecology, remote sensing, Bayesian statistics, citizen science, engineering (for custom-built sensors), and epidemiology.

• Learn more about our research on our lab website.
• View publications on Google Scholar.