As climate change intensifies, so does the spread of infectious diseases. Rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and increasing urbanization are creating new habitats for disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes and ticks. Recognizing the urgent need for intervention, Rice University’s Sylvia Dee has joined forces with Peter Hotez and a team of scientists at Baylor College of Medicine on a groundbreaking initiative called the Texas Virosphere Project.
This ambitious undertaking seeks to predict and prevent climate-driven infectious disease outbreaks in Texas and the Gulf Coast. By integrating climate science, metagenomics and machine learning, the research team aims to identify high-risk areas before they become epicenters of public health crises.
“The intersection of climate change and public health is an emerging field of study, and the Texas Virosphere Project is at the forefront of that effort,” said Dee, assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences. “We’re combining cutting-edge climate models with genomic data to better understand where and when outbreaks may occur.”
The Texas Virosphere Project was created in response to the increasing vulnerability of the region to vector-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Chagas disease and tick-borne illnesses. With temperatures in Texas expected to reach unprecedented highs and rainfall patterns becoming more erratic, mosquito and tick populations are expanding, increasing the risk of disease transmission.
“The Gulf Coast is becoming a global hotspot for tropical and neglected diseases,” said Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine. “What was once considered a problem of low-income tropical regions is now a growing threat here in the U.S.”
Unlike traditional disease surveillance that primarily focuses on known pathogens, the Texas Virosphere Project takes a comprehensive and proactive approach by analyzing over 3,000 insect genomes to detect emerging and unknown pathogens. The researchers plan to create a predictive disease atlas to help identify potential threats before they reach epidemic levels.
As an expert in climate science, Dee is applying advanced climate models and machine learning to identify zones of maximum vulnerability — areas where population growth, limited health care access and climate extremes converge to create ideal conditions for disease outbreaks.
“The key to prevention is prediction,” Dee said. “We’re using high-resolution climate models to forecast extreme heat, humidity and precipitation changes, then overlaying that data with public health information to pinpoint the communities most at risk.”
By mapping these vulnerability hotspots, the team aims to provide local and state health departments with data-driven strategies to mitigate outbreaks. These predictive tools will help allocate resources, improve disease surveillance and implement targeted public health interventions.
The Texas Virosphere Project is a collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine and Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research and Rice’s Center for a Sustainable Earth. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that the project benefits from expertise in epidemiology, genomics, climate science and public health. Hotez and his team are leaders in the study of neglected tropical diseases and recently received a 2025 Hill Prize for public health innovation for the project.
“This project is a game-changer,” Hotez said. “By leveraging expertise from multiple fields, we can detect and respond to emerging disease threats before they escalate into full-scale public health emergencies.”
As Texas continues to experience rapid population growth and escalating climate challenges, the need for proactive disease prevention strategies has never been greater. Dee said the Texas Virosphere Project could serve as a model for other regions facing similar threats.
“We are developing a framework that can be applied far beyond Texas,” she said. “By integrating climate science, genomics and public health data, we can build a more resilient and proactive response system, not just for this region but for the entire country.”
Dee’s expertise as a climate scientist promises to be a vital asset to this project. Her research explores how natural climate variability interacts with climate change to drive extreme weather with a focus on North America, Africa and the Asian summer monsoon regions. She has published 56 peer-reviewed papers with over 1,200 citations and has earned multiple honors, including the National Academies Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellowship and Rice’s 2024 Provost’s Award.
Beyond research, Dee is a dedicated science communicator, frequently contributing to NPR, AccuWeather and the Houston Chronicle . She also leads environmental science programs for the Girl Scouts of the USA, earning the organization’s Global Leadership Award.