Caradee Wright has a PhD (Public Health) and is a Chief Specialist Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council leading the Climate Change and Health Research Programme. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Pretoria and Research Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg. Her research focuses on environmental health in Africa with a focus on understanding climate change and health impacts to inform interventions. Her expertise are in air pollution exposure and risk reduction, skin cancer prevention, and climate / health relationships and adaptation. 

Caradee has published more than 110 research articles in accredited journals and supervises postgraduate students at multiple institutions. Among many international roles, Caradee was an author of the Africa Chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report 6 Working Group II Report. Caradee is an Advisor to the International Livestock Research Institute’s One Health Centre for Africa (OHRECA) and the USA Health Effects Institute Global Health Oversight Committee. She is also a Technical Advisor to the World Health Organization’s Global Air Pollution Technical Advisory Group in the capacity of Lead Expert for the Policy / Interventions Working Group and a Council Member of the American Society for Photobiology. 

Caradee was an author of the Network of African Academies ‘Climate Change and Health in Africa Report’ and an author of the United Nations Environment Panel (UNEP) Reports: ‘Preventing the Next Pandemic Report’, ‘Environment Assessment Synthesis Report’, and ‘Measuring Progress: Environment and the SDGs report’. She is currently a Chapter Lead Author of the Africa Assessment on Climate Change and Air Pollution Report led by UNEP, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Climate & Clean Air Coalition. Caradee co-founded the South African Young Academy and was co-chair for its first two years. Caradee is also a member of the Global Young Academy and the South African Society of Atmospheric Science. Recently, Caradee was appointed to the Premier of Gauteng’s Climate Change Committee and a Technical Advisor to the Wellcome Trust Climate Change and Health funding portfolio. Caradee is also an Associate Editor of Annals of Global Health and Photochemistry and Photobiology.