UB experts available to discuss wildfire smoke

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The following University at Buffalo experts are available to discuss how poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke is affecting Western New York, the Great Lakes region and Northeast United States.

Respiratory illness

Sanjay Sethi, MD, professor and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and UBMD Internal Medicine. He can address how poor air quality from wildfires affects people, especially those with preexisting lung conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This UBMD article contains more info from Sethi.

To schedule an interview, text Ellen Goldbaum, news content manager, at 716-771-9255.  

Air quality, exposure from a public health standpoint

Meng Wang, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. A core faculty member of the UB RENEW Institute, he can speak about air pollution modeling, the health impacts of being exposed to air pollution and other issues.

Phone: 716-829-5341
Email: mwang54@buffalo.edu

Allergies

Stanley Schwartz, MD, PhD, UB Distinguished Professor of medicine and pediatrics, chief of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a physician with UBMD Internal Medicine. Schwartz can discuss how the poor air quality is affecting people, especially those who were already suffering from an especially difficult allergy season this spring.

To schedule an interview, text Ellen Goldbaum, news content manager, at 716-771-9255.  

Measuring air pollution

Kang Sun, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Sun can discuss air pollution and the latest techniques for measuring atmospheric pollutants, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others.

Phone: 716-645-6167
Email: kangsun@buffalo.edu

How wildfires spread, disaster resilience

Negar Elhami-Khorasani, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. She can speak about issues such as structural fire engineering, the performance of buildings and other structures at high temperatures, post-earthquake fires, and wildfire risks in wildland urban interfaces — areas where natural environments meet human-developed land.

Phone: 716- 645-3019
Email: negarko@buffalo.edu

Emergency preparedness, role of nurses and EMTs

Joann Sands, DNP, clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing, can discuss disaster and emergency preparedness, management and response. In addition to her work at the university, Sands has many years of experience as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician.

Phone: 716-829-2342
Email: jsnyder2@buffalo.edu