Christine Vatovec
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Planetary Health Lead, Osher Center for Integrative Health
Research Assistant Professor, Larner College of Medicine
Lecturer and Research Affiliate, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Gund Institute for Environment Fellow
- Ph.D., Environment and Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010
- M.S., Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 2002
- B.S., Natural Resources, Cornell University, 1994
BIO
Christine Vatovec, PhD, is an environmental health social scientist who studies the interconnections between human health and planetary health, and serves as the Planetary Health Lead at the University of Vermont (UVM) Osher Center for Integrative Health. At UVM, Dr. Vatovec is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Research Assistant Professor in the Larner College of Medicine, Fellow in the Gund Institute for Environment, and Lecturer in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
Dr. Vatovec’s interdisciplinary background includes training in both natural and social sciences, which she uses to focus her work on the bi-directional interconnections between human health and planetary health. Through her scholarship, she works to identify ways to decrease the unintended consequences of medical care on the natural environment, while increasing positive outcomes for both people and the planet. She works with healthcare clinicians, educators, staff, administrators, and policy makers to identify and implement practices that improve outcomes for patients, clinicians, and the natural environment. Her first book, Dying Green: A Journey through End-of-Life Medicine in Search of Sustainable Healthcare (Rutgers University Press, 2023), provided a comparative ethnographic analysis of the unintended environmental and public health consequences and their solutions within conventional, palliative care, and hospice care for terminally ill cancer patients. Among her recent work, Christine has helped develop collaborative partnerships focused on advancing climate-informed primary care, Whole Person healthcare, and nature prescriptions.
Courses
- Human Health and the Environment
- Climate Change and Health
- Planetary Health
- Science and Evidence of Integrative Health
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Awards
- 2025 - Outstanding Poster Award, North American Primary Care Research Group Practice-Based Research Network Conference
- 2025 - UVM Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee
- 2024 - UVM Prelock Online Teaching Award Nominee
- 2020 - UVM Outstanding Part-time Faculty Teaching Award
Professional Associations
- Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health
- Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network
- Planetary Health Alliance
- Vermont Climate and Health Alliance
Featured Scholarly Work
- Dying Green: A Journey through End-of-Life Medicine in Search of Sustainable Healthcare (2023, Rutgers University Press)
Area(s) of expertise
Planetary health, climate change and human health, decarbonizing healthcare, environmental public health, health benefits of nature contact, integrative healthcare, Whole Person Health, pharmaceutical pollution, social science surveys, ethnographic methods
Bio
Christine Vatovec, PhD, is an environmental health social scientist who studies the interconnections between human health and planetary health, and serves as the Planetary Health Lead at the University of Vermont (UVM) Osher Center for Integrative Health. At UVM, Dr. Vatovec is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Research Assistant Professor in the Larner College of Medicine, Fellow in the Gund Institute for Environment, and Lecturer in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
Dr. Vatovec’s interdisciplinary background includes training in both natural and social sciences, which she uses to focus her work on the bi-directional interconnections between human health and planetary health. Through her scholarship, she works to identify ways to decrease the unintended consequences of medical care on the natural environment, while increasing positive outcomes for both people and the planet. She works with healthcare clinicians, educators, staff, administrators, and policy makers to identify and implement practices that improve outcomes for patients, clinicians, and the natural environment. Her first book, Dying Green: A Journey through End-of-Life Medicine in Search of Sustainable Healthcare (Rutgers University Press, 2023), provided a comparative ethnographic analysis of the unintended environmental and public health consequences and their solutions within conventional, palliative care, and hospice care for terminally ill cancer patients. Among her recent work, Christine has helped develop collaborative partnerships focused on advancing climate-informed primary care, Whole Person healthcare, and nature prescriptions.
Courses
- Human Health and the Environment
- Climate Change and Health
- Planetary Health
- Science and Evidence of Integrative Health
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Awards
- 2025 - Outstanding Poster Award, North American Primary Care Research Group Practice-Based Research Network Conference
- 2025 - UVM Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee
- 2024 - UVM Prelock Online Teaching Award Nominee
- 2020 - UVM Outstanding Part-time Faculty Teaching Award
Professional Associations
- Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health
- Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network
- Planetary Health Alliance
- Vermont Climate and Health Alliance
Featured Scholarly Work
- Dying Green: A Journey through End-of-Life Medicine in Search of Sustainable Healthcare (2023, Rutgers University Press)
Areas of Expertise
Planetary health, climate change and human health, decarbonizing healthcare, environmental public health, health benefits of nature contact, integrative healthcare, Whole Person Health, pharmaceutical pollution, social science surveys, ethnographic methods