As the climate-health crisis deepens, Dr. Madeleine Thomson is urging policymakers to move from warnings to action. In Sky News, she framed Europe’s tropical nights as not only a scientific issue but also a political challenge. Governments, she argues, must stop treating health as a secondary consideration in climate policy and instead place it at the center of planning.
At the Wellcome Trust, Thomson has advanced research that translates climate science into actionable recommendations. This includes projects that integrate infectious disease modeling with climate forecasts, ensuring that policies anticipate risks rather than simply respond to crises. Her ResearchGate work highlights how these tools can be applied to anticipate outbreaks and protect vulnerable populations.
Her global collaborations, detailed in her Crunchbase profile, position her as both a researcher and a policy advocate. At Columbia University, she bridged the gap between science and governance, working alongside international organizations to align climate-health research with real-world policy frameworks.
One of Thomson’s recurring themes is that policy must reflect lived experience. Heat-related illness, mental health stress, and climate-sensitive diseases are not abstract—they affect communities every day. Her emphasis on evidence-based governance ensures that policymakers cannot dismiss health as an afterthought in climate negotiations.
By linking science directly to governance, Thomson continues to push for solutions that protect communities worldwide. Her career underscores the importance of turning climate-health research into legislative action, proving that effective policy is the most powerful tool we have to confront the climate and health crises simultaneously.