Project Portfolio

Project Portfolio

The Center for Healthy Air Water and Soil works with Citizen Scientists in Louisville's urban laboratory to understand the connections between human health and the health of the environment. Our projects include collaborations both inside the University of Louisville and beyond.

All our work is grant and donation funded. If you would like to support the our work that brings citizen science and innovative environmental health research to University of Louisville, consider contributing to our work!  

Projects

Co-Immunity Project

The purpose of this project is to help healthcare workers determine if they have been unknowingly exposed to COVID-19, to measure how much immunity was generated by such exposure, and to identify those with the best immune responses as donors of high quality plasma for rescue treatment of patients with advanced COVID-19. In addition, the data will be used by scientist worldwide who are working to determine whether quantitative antibody measurements can be used to predict immunity in the overall workforce.

Green Equity

As a part of Healthy Louisville 2025, the Envirome and the Center for Healthy Air Water and Soil are working towards community-wide improvements through the plan's Environmental Equity goal. Environmental Equity is the ability to live, work and play in healthy environments is a basic human right. Environmental equity describes a community where no single group bears the majority burden or faces disadvantages in dealing with environmental hazards, disasters, or pollution. Healthy environment indicators should be present in every area, for all groups within a community.

NASA Develop

The Envirome's research has pioneered efforts in increasing the area and accessibility of urban parks and greenspaces as a way to improve public health and combat environmental inequality. Using this research, the Center and NASA created maps that calculate greenness (via Normalized Difference Vegetation Index or NDVI) in Louisville at the census tract level and automated the process for use in other cities. The New York University School of Medicine's City Health Dashboard displays public health metrics across almost 800 US cities. These calculations will help cities across the US to make informed decisions about reducing environmental inequality. 

City on Science

For many years, the University of Louisville has researched the health of people living in Louisville. This research has been shared at scientific conferences and published in scientific journals, but not enough of this new knowledge has made its way back to the community and we're setting out to change that one journal article at a time.  From April to December 2019 the Envirome hosted monthly reading clubs where people from around Louisville discussed research papers that were based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ambassadors for Health in All Policies

Creating and supporting a network of individuals who work across the eight dimensions of health represented by the Circle of Health and Harmony to make their communities healthier.

Healthy Plants Collection

Based on NASA science an in partnership with Nanz and Kraft Florist, a curated line of indoor air-cleaning plants.

UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network

SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development. The Center for Healthy Air Water and Soil was a founding member of the US Network in December 2018, featured the SDSN's work in Sustain Magazine Issue 41 in 2019.

Green Heart Louisville

Green Heart Louisville is a first-of-its-kind scientific experiment that will test if increasing green space in a neighborhood will improve air quality and human health. To ensure that residents can maintain trees in the public right of way the Green Heart team has worked with Louisville Metro Government to create a Tree Assistance Fund

Superfund Research Program

The Superfund Program studies the effects of chemical exposure on risk for developing heart disease, diabe­tes, and liver disease in populations living near toxic waste disposal sites.

Sustain Magazine

Sustain Magazine is an environmental health focused publication from the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute that features discussion and research about sustainability issues and solutions. It is a resource for faculty, staff, students, and research partners designed to contribute to greater understanding and appreciation of environmental health research across the University community, public and private decision-makers in Louisville and across the United States.

New Vision of Health

The Circle of Harmony & Health is a framework for a New Vision of Health. This framework considers your total health in balance; nutritional, economic, environmental, psychological, intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and physical. Learn more by watching this video.


Citizen Science Opportunities 

Citizen Scientists provide data about their everyday experiences so we can begin to understand the connections between our health, our environment, and our choices. Learn more about our projects and consider signing on as one of our lab partners!

Smell My City

Do you smell something out of the ordinary? Report it using the Smell My City app! This app is used to report unusual odors, and collect data that can help local residents, organizations and regulators to track down potential sources of pollution in their neighborhood.

Bike Sense Louisville

Bike Sense Louisville is a public art project that involves citizens riding their bikes to collect data on temperature, air-quality and location. Small sensors collect this data and it is interpreted into sound that is played real-time on the Big Four Bridge. Visit their site to learn more and get involved!

Louisville Data Commons

Louisville Data Commons is an open data website designed to store and share data generated by Louisville Community members and non-profit organizations. It is here that you can also find the data logged into the Smell My City app.

Healthy Trees Healthy Cities

The Healthy Trees Healthy Cities app is a resource made by The Nature Conservancy to help improve the quality of life in communities. The app seeks to do this by covering the necessary steps to properly plant and care for trees. If you would like to learn how you can support trees where you live, work, and play, then head over to their website.


Collaborations

University of Louisville Health Science Campus Sustainability Green Team

Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness - Healthy Louisville 2025, Environmental Equity Workgroup

Louisville Metro Department of Community Services and Revitalization - Louisville Resilience Workgroup, Climate Adaptation Workgroup

Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District - Air Researchers Forum, Multi-Stakeholder Air Toxins Workgroup

Louisville Health Advisory Board - Respiratory Health Workgroup