Academy Fellow

Professor Guo has done a series of innovative and fundamental studies to improve the climate and environmental health assessment and to address the inequity of environmental exposure and health risks.

He stands as a pioneering figure in integrating machine learning techniques to estimate air pollution and associated health risks. He spearheaded the transformation of traffic cameras into air quality monitors, setting a precedent for innovative and cost-effective environmental monitoring solutions. His works have significantly enhanced the air pollution exposure assessment methodologies and the assessment in the inequity of air pollution exposure and health risks. He provides robust evidence that there is no threshold for the impacts of air pollution on human health. His extensive research efforts significantly contribute to the enhancement of the World Health Organization's Daily Air Quality Guidelines and country specific air quality standards.

His research has led to a major breakthrough in heat adaptation assessment. He reveals that the most frequent temperatures are the comfortable temperatures for human. Australians are getting more vulnerable to extreme hot temperatures. He develops novel methods to examine the health impacts of unstable temperatures/temperature fluctuation. He is the first to estimate the global mortality burden associated with non-optimal temperatures, filling critical knowledge gaps in understanding the health risks of heat exposure. His research has shifted the paradigm of environmental and climate epidemiology for precision public health policies for heat adaptation and mitigation.

His research has unequivocally demonstrated that extreme weather events and air pollution seriously impact vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and individuals with chronic diseases. Furthermore, these environmental stressors affect negative birth outcomes, mental health issues, and Autism. Notably, people with low socioeconomic status face heightened risks, which underscores the profound socioeconomic disparities in health impacts. The evidence presented by his research has been widely cited by policy documents for targeted protective actions and policies aimed at safeguarding these vulnerable groups.

Distinguished Professor and Unit Head

Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences in Australia

Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

Fellow of Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

Member of Academia Europaea

Member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts

Member of Brazilian Academy of Sciences

Tony McMichael Award of Internal Society for Environmental Epidemiology

Research Excellence Award, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council

Young Tall Poppy Award, Australian Institute of Policy and Science

Xu R, Ye T, Yue X, Yang Z, Yu W, Zhang Y, Bell M, Morawska L, Yu P, Zhang Y, Wu Y, Johnston F, Abramson MJ, Guo Y, Li S. Nature, Global population exposure to air pollution sourced from landscape fires during 2000-2019. 2023, 621: 521–529.

Xu R, Yu P, Abramson MJ, Johnston F, Samet J, Bell M, Haines A, Ebi K, Li S, Guo Y. 2020, Wildfires, global climate change, and human health. New England Journal of Medicine, 383:2173-2181.

Yu W, Xu R, Ye T, Abramson MJ, Morawska L, Jalaludin B, Johnston F, Henderson SB, Knibbs LD, Morgan G, Lavigne E, Heyworth J, Hales S, Marks GB, Woodward A, Bell M, Samet JM, Song J, Li S, Guo Y. 2024, Estimates of global mortality burden associated with short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The Lancet Planetary Health, 8 (3): e146-e155.

Yu W, Ye T, Zhang Y, Xu R, Lei Y, Chen Z, Yang Z, Zhang Y, Song J, Yue X, Li S, Guo Y. 2023, Global estimates of daily ambient fine particulate matter concentrations and unequal spatiotemporal distribution of population exposure: A machine learning modeling study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(3): e209-e218.

Guo Y, Armstrong B, Gassparrini A, Li S, Tawatsupa B, Tobias A, Lavigne E, et al. 2014, Global variation in the effects of ambient temperature on mortality: a systematic evaluation. Epidemiology, 25(6):781-9.