Pilar Botana Martinez

Pilar Botana Martinez is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Environmental Health, at Boston University, School of Public Health. Martinez does research at the intersection between the built environment, health, and climate resilience, with an equity lens. She prioritizes research goals that are actionable, include overburdened communities in the research process, use mixed methods, and produce clear and meaningful “report back” communications.

Her current work at the Sustainable Built Environment Lab includes quantifying indoor heat exposure in schools located in urban heat islands using novel metrics, exploring the resilience of school buildings to overheating, and identifying barriers to equitable energy transitions in affordable housing. Her previous work at C-HEAT – Chelsea and East Boston Heat Study– included the involvement in a Photovoice project to explore the heat residents’ concerns with extreme heat, in two environmental justice communities.

Before joining the PhD program, Martinez worked in architecture and urban planning for 18 years, emphasizing the importance of indoor and outdoor environments for health. Pilar was born in A Coruña, Spain, and holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of A Coruna and a Certificate in Digital Health Communications from Tufts University.

As an IGS Graduate Student Summer Fellow, she will explore the value of novel approaches to characterizing the burden of heat exposure for vulnerable populations in ways that are relevant to health and wellbeing. Her faculty advisor is M. Patricia Fabian, ScD, Associate Director, IGS and Associate Professor, Environmental Health. Her project is titled “Rethinking how we measure indoor heat burden for people living in heat islands.”

Pronouns: she/her