Climate Pathfinder: Ph.D. Student Focuses on Heat, Health and Community

Elizabeth Rojo carries many experiences as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, world traveler, immigrant, Mexican American, first-generation college graduate -- and a Duke Ph.D. student seeking systemic change.

In her Ph.D. studies in population health sciences, Rojo tackles one of the most pressing public health threats driven by climate change: extreme heat. She uses her personal and professional knowledge to center the voices of community in her research — particularly farm workers, who are disproportionately affected by climate-related heat hazards.

"Farm workers are the backbone of our agricultural system,” Rojo said. “Yet they are at a higher risk of poor health outcomes due to climate change because of the nature of their work and poor worker protections. They are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses and increased chronic conditions.”

Shaped by California and Mexico

Growing up in both California and Mexico, Rojo experienced the environmental shifts taking place around her: increasingly intense wildfires, rising heat and the dangerous working conditions that outdoor and migrant workers often endure. As the daughter of an outdoor worker, she saw the toll that climate and health inequalities took on those exposed to heat and wildfires in both areas.

“I started making the connections and realizing farm workers across California were expected to work through these wildfires, through smoke hazards and heat hazards. Then, during the pandemic, they were declared essential workers, yet they still lacked protections,” she said.

After working for a decade in public health both internationally and in underserved communities across the United States, her desire to ask her own research questions and elevate marginalized community voices led her to pursue a Ph.D. Attracted to Duke by the university’s Climate Commitment and the launch of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub, Rojo found a project that aligned with her interest in climate and health.

She began researching farm worker communities in North Carolina and community-based organizations in the area. Today, she is partnering with the North Carolina Farm Worker Health Program, within the Office of Rural Health in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Working with farm workers and growers, Rojo is conducting surveys, in-depth interviews and field visits to gather data during the heat season about farm workers in N.C. She aims to develop scalable, community-informed interventions that protect agricultural workers' health in the state and nationwide.

In April 2025, she co-organized the Innovative Strategies for Addressing Climate-Related Health Challenges Symposium at Duke, sharing her research and approach.

“I consider myself an advocate of the community. I show up, and I care as a researcher,” Rojo said. “I want the community to be partners — not just participants — every step of the way.”

Inspiration for children’s book

Professor Hayden Bosworth is vice chair for research in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Rojo’s dissertation committee chair.

"Elizabeth’s work doesn’t just reflect an interest in climate and health — it reflects a deep commitment to health equity. She ensures that rural, under-resourced and historically marginalized communities are central to the conversation, not an afterthought,” Bosworth said.

Her publishing extends beyond academia. In 2023, she published a Spanish children’s book, La Casa de Vicky, inspired by her bicultural upbringing, her grandmother and her love for storytelling. She enjoys reading the book with her 4-year-old daughter Victoria.

From her children’s book to her Ph.D. dissertation, Rojo is committed to community and to our world. With her background in public health and travels to more than 50 countries in five continents, she brings a distinctive and multifaceted perspective to challenges in the world.

“My curiosity for the world and my experiences because of it have added so much more depth to my vision of the world. I truly have seen enough of our planet to fully understand what is at risk if we don’t act now,” she said.