Media advisory: U of A experts from a range of disciplines available to discuss extreme heat

May 9, 2025

TUCSON, Ariz. – Extreme heat kills more Americans each year than other climate-fueled hazards like hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. As global temperatures continue their upward trajectory, preparing for and mitigating the health threats posed to Americans by extreme heat will become increasingly urgent.

Planning can go a long way toward reducing the negative health impacts of extreme heat on communities and their residents. Ladd Keith, a University Distinguished Scholar and associate professor in the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, has studied the human impact of extreme heat – and how governments can best respond – for nearly two decades.

Keith, who is also an associate research professor at the university's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, is helping lead the U of A's share in several national projects to support communities across the U.S. in their heat-planning efforts, including the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, which aims to better understand how extreme heat affects communities across the Southwest.

"Extreme heat is often called the invisible killer because of how much more media coverage is given to other weather events like floods and wildfires," said Keith, who also directs the Arizona Institute for Resilience's Heat Resilience Initiative. "But, as we've seen through collaboration between U of A researchers and officials across Arizona, planning and preparing for our summer heat is one of the best ways for communities to protect all of their members from the harms caused by extreme heat."

With Arizona Heat Awareness Week and the start of extreme heat season, Keith and other U of A experts from a variety of disciplines are available to speak about extreme heat.

Ladd Keith is a University Distinguished Scholar an associate professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning and a faculty research associate at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy. His research focuses on heat planning, policy and governance to help increase the heat resilience of communities, regions and nations across the world. Keith leads the U of A's share of the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, which aims to better understand how extreme heat affects communities across the Southwest. He also directs the Arizona Institute for Resilience's Heat Resilience Initiative.
520-621-0804
ladd@arizona.edu

Mona Arora is an assistant research professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Her research focuses on building the public health system capacity and capability to address global "wicked problems," including pandemics, disasters and climate change. The director of the Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate Change and Health, or SCORCH, Arora recently conducted a national workforce assessment of the public health system's capacity to protect against the health consequences of climate change.
520-626-0612
manand@arizona.edu 

Heidi Brown is a professor of public health in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Brown's research aims to better understand how our environs influence our health, with a special focus on vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. She also collaborates on many research projects designed to prepare for extreme heat, including leading the U of A's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects effort, is the health lead on the Climate Assessment for the Southwest and is a researcher on the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory. 
520-626-2262 
heidibrown@arizona.edu
(Note: Brown's availability begins on May 13.)

Stephanie Russo Carroll is an associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and a research associate with the U of A's Native Nations Institute and Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy. Carroll's research explores the links between Indigenous governance, data, the environment and community wellness. Carroll has helped train researchers in best practices for working with tribal communities in ways that respect tribes' sovereignty, culture and traditions.
stephaniecarroll@arizona.edu 
(Note: Carroll is unavailable during June and the second half of July.)

Theresa Crimmins is an associate professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and directs the USA National Phenology Network, a network of scientists and non-scientists dedicated to studying nature's calendar. NPN collects, organizes and delivers national phenological data, information and forecasts to support natural resource management and decision-making. Crimmins recently authored "Phenology," a primer on the topic of seasonal events in plants and animals.
520-621-8523
theresam@arizona.edu 

Kristina Currans is an associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. Currans was trained as a civil engineer, and her work spans the transportation planning and engineering disciplines. As part of the Department of Energy-funded Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, Currans is studying how heat influences travel behavior across the Sun Corridor. 
curransk@arizona.edu 
(Note: Currans is unavailable for most of July.)

Mark Kear is an associate professor in the School of Geography, Development and the Environment. His work involves studying how financial markets can help address inequalities related to reduced state funding for housing, welfare and urban development. Kear's research focuses primarily on manufactured homes, whose owners and renters see a much higher rate of heat-related deaths than those living in traditional single-family homes. As a researcher on the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, Kear partnered with residents to monitor the climate data of 40 Tucson households in manufactured homes last summer.
520-621-1021
mkear@arizona.edu 

Tanya Quist is an associate professor of practice in the School of Plant Sciences and director of the U of A's Campus Arboretum. Quist has studied plant responses to abiotic stress, including drought and salt, and previous studies of her were aimed at understanding the effects of water quality and cultural practices on growth and performance of woody landscape plants. As the director of the Campus Arboretum, she provides both statewide education and campus leadership promoting science-based stewardship and conservation of urban trees.
520-306-1228
520-621-7074
tquist@arizona.edu 

Ursula Schuch is a professor in the School of Plant Sciences and an environmental horticulture extension specialist for U of A Cooperative Extension. Schuch's research addresses issues in plant production and landscape management with the goal to provide information on how to produce and maintain healthy, functional plants with minimal human intervention. Her work focuses on landscape management, nursery production, plant stress physiology, salinity and drought tolerance of plants, irrigation requirements of trees and specialty crop production.
520-621-1060
uschuch@arizona.edu 
(Note: Schuch's availability begins on May 15.)

Jeremy Weiss is the program manager of the Arizona Meteorological Network, where he combines science, technology and stakeholder engagement to ensure delivery of high-quality meteorological data and related products, and to support decision-making in agriculture and natural resources. 
520-621-1319
jlweiss@arizona.edu

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Kyle Mittan
University Communications
520-626-4407
mittank@arizona.edu

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