Dr. Hess is a lead author on several national and international climate assessments, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, and the fifth US National Climate Assessment. He is also an author on the annual Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.
His research interest is in climate change and health, including climate change adaptation in the health sector and health co-benefits of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He is also very interested in advancing public health practice related to climate change through development and implementation of interventions to reduce climate change risks.
Dr. Hess previously worked as a senior medical adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the health effects of climate change. He is a section editor at the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine and a recipient of the Presidential GreenGov award. His work has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, NASA, the Wellcome Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among other funders.