Dr. Kristin Sznajder is an Assistant Professor of Public Health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, USA. Her research focuses on environmental and reproductive health equity, and examines how structural and social determinants, including climate change and health care access, can shape maternal and child health outcomes. Dr. Sznajder has been working as an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2024.

Climate change and reproductive health is calling for submissions until 7th November 2026.

What led you to focus on this research area throughout your career?

My research has long focused on maternal and reproductive health and on understanding how environmental and social conditions shape health. Climate change increasingly intersects with this work, particularly as extreme heat, air pollution, and other climate-related exposures become more common and affect reproductive health and widen differences in health outcomes across populations in ways we are still working to understand.

What are the biggest challenges being seen across this research area right now?

One of the biggest challenges is understanding which climate-related exposures have the greatest impact on reproductive health and when people are most vulnerable. We also need improved measures of individual-level exposure, including indoor conditions, and a better understanding of the factors that may mediate or modify these effects.

Which research areas would you like to see submissions on?

I would welcome submissions across the reproductive life course especially focused on fertility, maternal mental health, access to care, postpartum health, lactation, menopause, reproductive cancer, and from LMIC populations. Also - papers assessing interventions or adaptation methods would be valuable. Also - mechanistic studies would be great to see - what are biomarkers to help explain some of the processes to how climate change has impacted reproductive health. Finally - studies on measurement especially at the household level would be very helpful.

How have you found the Guest Editor experience?

The Guest Editor experience has been very rewarding. It has provided an excellent opportunity to engage with emerging research, interact with investigators working across diverse disciplines, and contribute to advancing an important and rapidly evolving field. The editorial process has been well organized, and I have appreciated the support provided throughout manuscript handling. 

Will you be submitting any of your own research to the Collection?

My team did submit an article. We found that extreme heat and PM2.5 are associated with reduced birthweight, varying by trimester and race.

To submit an article to the Collection, please visit the 'How to submit' tab on the Collection webpage.