Kyle Peeples knows heat. Having grown up in the Phoenix area, he has endured intense summer heat waves. But the first-year University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix medical student says the full impact of extreme heat was not quite clear to him until he started volunteering with Street Medicine Phoenix, which is operated by the U of A Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

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Administering care there to those experiencing homelessness put a human face to the ways extreme heat can magnify health problems, he said.

“It’s driven home how difficult it can be to survive these heat waves,” Peeples said. “It’s informed the way I see patients and their everyday struggles.”

Peeples is one of a small group of U of A graduate students who are aiding the Heat and Health Resilience Innovation Consortium, a transdisciplinary project designed to protect those most vulnerable to extreme heat while providing training for the next generation of talent. 

The consortium is among six teams funded by the U of A Office of Research and Partnership’s Big Idea Challenge, receiving up to $250,000 over two years to accelerate projects with potential to transform lives and shape policy. Co-led by Dr. Amelia Gallitano and Dr. Freya Spielberg from the College of Medicine – Phoenix, the team brings together experts, students and community and municipal partners to develop an ecosystem of heat-protection solutions. 

“Extreme heat is a significant problem when it comes to health care,” Peeples said. “People experiencing homelessness may not have access to shelter or working air conditioning, and many of us take those comforts for granted. When I met Dr. Spielberg, I expressed my interest to be involved with the consortium. I wanted to be part of the difference and work toward helping reduce the health risks brought on by extreme heat.”

Extreme heat overwhelms the body’s natural cooling mechanisms – sweating and blood circulation – causing rapid, dangerous spikes in core temperature, which can lead to heat stroke and death.

Team members are developing wearable devices to track vital signs, heat stroke risk, and early signs of heat-related illness. The devices are connected to an app that alerts users and medical professionals to a potential health concern. Additionally, researchers are leveraging artificial intelligence to use electronic health record data from Banner Health to compile a Heat Susceptibility Score, which could help identify those at highest risk for prevention interventions.

Members of the consortium will adhere to rigorous standards involving patient confidentiality and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, ensuring private health records are kept safe and private.

A doctor-in-training on the front lines

Peeples also volunteers with Saturday Scrubs, a mentorship and training program at the College of Medicine – Phoenix meant to introduce high school students to the medical field. He is considering going into internal medicine after graduating in 2029.

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Volunteering, he said, “is a great learning experience and it familiarizes me with the barriers to health care that people experiencing homelessness face all the time. It’s important to get out there and show people what they need to know about prevention and hydration. It’s all about making sure people don’t end up in the hospital in the first place.”

As part of the consortium team, Peeples assists with research and curriculum advocacy under the mentorship of Spielberg and Gallitano. 

“I’m excited to move forward with this project,” Peeples said. “The innovations that come out of this consortium will be designed to meet the needs of the people in the state, and I think that this could have a huge impact.”

Gallitano said Peeples is gaining valuable experience as he pursues his medical degree.

“Kyle is clearly passionate about finding solutions to address the major health problems that result from our extreme heat. In addition to working on a pilot study to help develop our Heat Risk Score, he has also been working together with another student to integrate information on how heat and other climate-related factors affect human health into our medical school curriculum. ” Gallitano said. “The Heat and Health Resilience Innovation Consortium provides opportunities for medical students like Kyle to develop their careers and is instrumental in developing the next generation of health industry workers to benefit Arizona and beyond.” 

Building blocks of a public health career

For Sydney Mintalar, a Master of Public Health , or MPH, student at the Zuckerman College of Public Health who is graduating in August, the consortium will count toward her Applied Practice Experience. Raised in Minneapolis, Mintalar is applying the insight she has gained through her own acclimation to the southern Arizona summers. Working under Dr. Spielberg, she is building a pilot survey to gauge health risks and the acceptability of proposed interventions for outdoor workers, older adults and those experiencing homelessness. 

Using her survey data, the consortium will ensure that the innovations developed meet community members needs and priorities. For Mintalar, who also works as a clinical research coordinator in cardiology, the experience is a perfect connection to her goal of working in health care administration.

“I’m getting to see how studies are started on the back end and take part in conversations about budgets and searching for grants,” she said. “All of the skills I’m learning apply to my future goals.”

Spielberg says Mintalar has been a valuable addition to the team.

“Sydney is having a great experience in her MPH program helping to coordinate and implement the patient survey to determine heat illness prevention needs and preferences of individuals in Phoenix that are high risk," Spielberg said. “Having student eyes on the project is invaluable to us, and the opportunity to work with the consortium provides practical experience for Sydney, Kyle and the rest of the grad students on the team. That experience will pay dividends throughout their careers.”