The Balsari Lab studies the impact of public health emergencies, disasters, and war on vulnerable populations.
Our team collaborates with populations in distress, humanitarian response agencies, civil society organizations, governments, and international agencies to reduce information asymmetries that threaten to exclude the poor and disadvantaged from decisions that impact their lives.
Leveraging mobile technology, data science, machine learning, and mixed methods, we have built digital decision support tools to advance clinical and population health outcomes in underserved communities globally.
Featured Projects
Scalable Crisis Readiness Expertise
CrisisReady
CrisisReady uses novel data on disaster disruptions and community impacts to develop tools that improve response efficiency and support preparedness efforts. By integrating research, technology, and policy, it aims to enhance resilience and reduce risks during crises.
Heat Exposure & Vulnerability Mapping
Heat Risk Data API
Turning authoritative climate data into daily, per-community heat exposure metrics for any geography on Earth—so responders can act on local risk, not regional averages.
Climate Change & Human Health
Climateverse
An open-access repository of curated climate datasets that enhances data quality, access, and usability by leveraging LLMs and Generative AI to break down barriers to utilization.
Climate Change & Human Health
CommHATS
Uncovering the impacts of extreme heat, CommHATS supports local communities and governments in India to build effective climate strategies.
Science Communication
Hum Sab Ek
An immersive exhibit built from the powerful stories of 3 million women in India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association, who worked in the informal sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Learnings in Disaster Response
Fall 2, 2026
Through an in-depth examination of environmental, technological, and natural disasters spanning four decades, students will learn critical aspects of disaster response, including regional and global frameworks, decision making, impact ascertainment, and evolving digital and AI applications in detecting, measuring and responding to disasters. Interactive class discussions elicit key learnings from 10 case-studies, all informed by primary research or field response conducted by course faculty. In 2026, the course will include multimedia simulations on two recent climate disasters.
Workstreams
Climate Change & Human Health
Disaster Impact Assessment
Digital Tools for Public Health
Science Communication
Events
Harvard Alumni Day 2026
The State of Climate Science and Adaptation to Climate Change
July 1, 2026
Letters to a New Heat Officer
Accelerating Useful Learning for Urban Heat Action
May 6, 2026 – May 7, 2026
HUM SAB EK (We Are One) on Display at the International Labor Organization’s Headquarters
A Milestone for India’s Informal Workers
May 30 - June 25, 2025
The Salata Institute for Climate & Sustainability & The Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute
India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future
March 19-22, 2025
Climate Change and Planetary Health Concentration Talk
How hot is it really? Who decides?
February 26, 2025
Amrita University
Too Hot To Work? What Would Climate Adaptation Look Like For India’s Labor Force?
February 20, 2025
The Paul Farmer Symposium on Global Health Equity
The Audacity of Accompaniment
November 19, 2024
The Harvard Global Health Institute
Oral Histories, Microsensors, and Parametric Insurance: When Poor Women Workers Drive the Research Agenda
June 28, 2024