Shlomit Paz
Full Professor (PhD)
School of Environmental Sciences
Head, Climate and Environmental Sustainability Center
Academic Head, Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library
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The Lower Galilee, Israel (my home), during winter.
I am a climatologist and environmental health researcher investigating the scientific basis and the impacts of climate change.
Over the years, my research has focused on analyzing, expanding, and deepening scientific knowledge on the human health impacts of climate change, with special attention to its influence on the transmission of vector-borne diseases at regional and global levels.
In my work, I explore the diverse effects on the outbreak, spread, and transmission of infectious diseases - mainly those transmitted by insects (West Nile virus, Leishmania), as well as food-borne (Campylobacter) and water-borne (Cholera) diseases. In addition, I am involved in a major project examining the association between severe heat and the risk of stroke among the Israeli population.
My work focuses not only on scientific aspects, but also on practical recommendations for better preparedness and adaptation to the health risks resulting from the climate crisis.
My publications appear in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as The BMJ, Nature Climate Change, Environmental Research Letters, Environmental Research, The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, and Parasites & Vectors, following previous publications in The Lancet, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Journal of Climate, Geophysical Research Letters, PLOS ONE, and EcoHealth, among others.
I have secured numerous research grants, including from the European Union (EU Horizon), European Science Foundation, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), COST Action, Israel Science Foundation (ISF), and others.
I hold various editorial roles, serving as an Associate Deputy Editor of Climatic Change, Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports (Climate Change section), and Academic Editor of PLOS Climate. In addition, I was a member of the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Global Health, and currently serve as an Advisory Board Member for The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.
I am involved in various international, European, Mediterranean, and Israeli projects on the current and predicted impacts of climate change. In recent years, I served as the research leader for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the current and predicted impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease spread in Europe.
I am a member of the Executive Committee of MedECC (network of Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change), which includes about 650 scientists from 35 states across the Mediterranean and Europe.
I was a contributor to the Human Health section of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, a reviewer of the UN Adaptation Gap Report, and the Coordinating Lead Author of the Health chapter for the MedECC Report on Environmental and Climate Change Impacts in the Mediterranean Basin Countries (published by the Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, and UNEP/MAP).
In 2020, 2023, and 2024, my name appeared on the World's Top Scientists list - the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in their sub-discipline (Stanford University and Elsevier ranking).
In Israel, I am a member of the Israel Climate Forum under the President of the State of Israel, a member of the Climate Committee of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a member of the Executive Committee of The Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
At the University of Haifa, I served as the Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, and as the Vice Dean of Teaching in The Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of Social Sciences.
Currently, I am the Head of the Climate and Environmental Sustainability Center in the Rector's Office. As of May 2026, I am the Academic Head of the University Library (Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library).
Contact
Contact
School of Environmental Sciences
Rabin Building (room 8014)
University of Haifa
199 Aba Khoushy Ave.
Mount Carmel
Haifa 3498838, Israel
Tel: +972-4-8249617 (office); +972-54-6408097 (mobile)
Email: shlomit@geo.haifa.ac.il
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