Hello,
I’m Nina Flores, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Promoting Equity in Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health Training Program, jointly based in the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work and Dell Medical School.
I completed my PhD in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in the summer of 2025. I am passionate about advancing environmental justice and health equity, particularly in the context of a changing climate.
Throughout my doctoral training, I developed a strong foundation in environmental health sciences, including advanced statistical and spatial epidemiologic methods, geospatial data processing using R, Google Earth Engine, and Python, exposure assessment, causal inference, and the application of environmental and climate justice frameworks. I also gained a strong understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.
My research focuses on the health impacts of climate-related exposures, including power outages, mold, severe storms, wildfires, and extreme heat, with an emphasis on understanding and addressing environmental health disparities.
I’m excited to bring my research back to my home state of Texas. During my postdoctoral training, I am working with Dr. Elizabeth Matsui to expand my clinical knowledge of asthma and respiratory disease, investigate Texas policy–relevant questions related to asthma and environmental health, and broaden my expertise into perinatal epidemiology. Through this work, I aim to integrate clinical, epidemiologic, and policy perspectives to develop research that informs interventions and policies to improve health equity for communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards.
Click any of these exposure topic areas below to read more about my completed and ongoing work. Check out the press articles below as well.
For a full list of my publications, check out my google scholar page.
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recent work (click below!)
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recent work (click below!) 𓆏
Press
BBC News
"Power outages can be deadly, and medically vulnerable, socioeconomically vulnerable, and marginalised groups may be disproportionately impacted or less prepared… Climate and energy policy must equitably address power outages", a subsequent paper on the power crisis stressed.
Bloomberg
“We’re focusing on New York state, but power outages are a growing problem nationally,” says Nina Flores, a doctoral student at Columbia University and lead author on the study, which was published Wednesday in PLOS Climate. She points to both the nation’s aging electric grid and damages from storms made increasingly severe by climate change.
The Conversation, self-published
“In New York City, we found that heat-, precipitation- and wind-driven outages occurred more frequently in socially vulnerable communities, including in Harlem, Upper Manhattan, the South Bronx and eastern Queens. This matters because socially vulnerable neighborhoods have higher poverty rates and lower-quality housing. Community members may lack access to health care or suffer from underlying health conditions.”
News Center Maine, NBC affiliate
But radical changes may be necessary to prevent future degradation of the Maine grid, Nina Flores a researcher at Columbia University, said Monday.
"Our grid is very aged, most components of it are … fifty, sixty, seventy years old," Flores said. "Having this repeated damage from different events … that’s contributing to what we’re seeing now."
Contact me
If you would like to reach me to inquire about my work, please fill out the form below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.