About

Chioma is a second-year medical student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine from Arlington, Texas. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and minor in Environmental Studies. Her education in earth systems and social justice laid the foundation for her work at the intersection of planetary health and community well-being. At Princeton, she served on the Mental Health Taskforce, the Student Health Advisory Committee, the TigerWell Grant Selection Committee, and as a Peer Health Adviser, deepening her commitment to equity-centered, community-driven well-being. During college, she received several grants to fund community well-being projects both on campus and in her home state of Texas, including a $10,000 grant from the Projects for Peace Foundation to organize an environmental justice workshop for underserved high schoolers and host a community wellness festival. Prior to medical school, she served as Community Engagement and Partnerships Coordinator at Liveable Arlington, a grassroots environmental health advocacy organization, where she led neighborhood outreach, forged partnerships with community leaders, and educated residents about pollution exposure and drilling risk, particularly regarding children's health. She has also worked as an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteered with a number of mobile health clinics including the Black Heart Association and UC San Diego Mobile Health Unit. Chioma created this fellowship and is the lead for its implementation including curriculum development and delivery, fellowship recruitment, and logistical planning.

Hugo is a rising undergraduate senior studying Neurobiology at UC San Diego who is motivated by the belief that young people who understand what is at stake in their own neighborhoods are among the most powerful forces for change. He brings to this role both firsthand knowledge of the environmental injustices facing South Bay communities and a genuine commitment to engaging the next generation in addressing them. He is the point of contact for the group research projects and supports fellowship implementation as needed.

Dr. Al-Delaimy is a Professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and a principal investigator of research projects involving climate change and health impacts among vulnerable populations, as well as research and evaluation projects involving California American Indians. He is an epidemiologist who uses mixed methods in data collection and analyses and is a national and international authority in community engagement and public health within the areas of environmental health, including climate change. He oversees the implementation of the fellowship.