Biography
Kelsey Herbst joined NCICS in March 2025 as a Research Associate specializing in environmental epidemiology. Her work focuses on the health impacts of climate-related disasters and long-term climate stressors, with an emphasis on maternal morbidity, mental health, and health inequities shaped by structural disparities. She applies epidemiologic methods to both quantitative and qualitative data to better understand how social determinants intersect with environmental stressors to determine health outcomes.
Kelsey earned her BS in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her MPH in Applied Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her studies, she discovered the intersection of epidemiology and environmental science through research on climate and health. Currently, she is working on studies examining maternal morbidity following recurrent hurricanes, the relationship between poverty and mental health in Southern Appalachia, and the development of intersectional approaches to health disparities research.