Caylee Chan is a graduate researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology. Her work with the I-GUIDE project is at the forefront of a unique intersection between environmental science and public health. She is currently focused on identifying suitable locations for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) across the United States.
Chan’s research, which she describes as “novel, multidisciplinary,” highlights how GSI can not only manage stormwater runoff but also help reduce the risk of mosquito-borne diseases by limiting the standing water needed for mosquito habitats. She credits her academic journey to a consistent interest in the impacts of climate and land use change on vector-borne diseases, a passion that was further ignited by a college professor who showed her the tangible impact of public health policy. Chan’s future aspirations reflect this blend of interests, as she hopes to apply her Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data analysis skills to a public health department, ultimately bridging the gap between scientific research, public policy, and community engagement.
Caylee Chan is a graduate researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology
What is your current position and institutional affiliation(s)?
Chan: I am a second-year master’s student in the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
What is your role in I-GUIDE?
Chan: As a graduate student researcher, I am currently working on a project to identify where it is suitable for green stormwater infrastructure to exist in the US. Conventional stormwater infrastructure (e.g., gutters, storm drains and pipes, catch basins) aims to quickly remove stormwater runoff from its source and into the sewer system where it eventually gets discharged into nearby waterbodies. Green stormwater infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, infiltration catch basins) aims to use the natural infiltration capacities of soils to capture, infiltrate, and/or filter stormwater runoff near its source to reduce the volume and improve the quality of stormwater entering the sewer system. Additionally, juvenile mosquitoes require standing water to grow and develop, and previous research indicates that certain types of green stormwater infrastructure can negatively impact juvenile mosquito habitats which has positive implications for reducing mosquito-borne disease risk. Therefore, by identifying areas in the US with high suitability for implementing green stormwater infrastructure, I am helping I-GUIDE contribute to novel, multidisciplinary research that addresses real-world environmental and public health issues.
Did you start your academic career with the same goals and direction as you have now? If not, tell us a little about how and why your direction has changed?
Chan: My goals have largely stayed the same throughout my academic career! As a freshman in college, I was always interested in learning about the impacts of climate change and how humans continually change the world around us. My public health sources shifted my research interests a bit and when I entered graduate school, my goal was to conduct research that explores how climate change and/or land use change affect vector-borne diseases, specifically mosquito- or tick-borne diseases, and learn more about working with policymakers to communicate important research findings to ultimately influence and shape public health policy in the US.
What inspires you and motivates you to do the work that you do?
Chan: In college, my public health policy professor, Prof. Zoe Beckerman, changed my perspective on health policy in the U.S. Prof. Beckerman is a phenomenal professor and was always so enthusiastic when discussing certain laws that had positive impacts on public health in the US, and I enjoyed seeing her passion for health policy every class. After taking her course, I became more interested in not only understanding how climate change and/or land use change affects vector-borne diseases but also communicating research findings to policymakers to develop public health solutions for potentially impacted communities.
Do/did you have a Plan B? What do you think you’d be doing if you hadn’t chosen an academic career?
Chan: I was also a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) minor in college and love the art of creating a map to communicate information. If I didn’t end up going to graduate school my plan was to look for GIS jobs at the local government level or potentially for an online newspaper.
What is the next chapter (aspirational or planned) in your career?
Chan: Now that I’m about halfway through my master’s degree, I’ve been thinking about pursuing a job in the public health field, hopefully at a county or state public health department. As an entry-level employee, I’d be interested in doing data analysis work for a certain public health problem(s) to see if there are any meaningful trends in the data that could inform public health interventions, for example.
What would you like to be when you grow up?
Chan: I’m not quite sure what a career title for this would be, but I’d love to conduct research on specific public health problems at the state or national level and communicate my findings to policymakers to help them understand the data informing proposed policies. At the same time, I also want to communicate my research with the general public to help them stay informed, but also to hear from them about the public health issues they find most important in their communities or what they think of any proposed policies.