The Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences is announcing an expansion of its leadership team.
Since its launch in 2024, the office has worked to integrate sustainability into health sciences education, foster interdisciplinary collaboration and create opportunities for students, faculty, staff and community partners to address the health impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.
Corey Flynn, left, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, is the new director of the office, leading its strategic initiatives across the six health sciences schools. Flynn has been instrumental in growing sustainability programming, educational initiatives, student engagement opportunities and interdisciplinary collaborations that advance planetary health and health care sustainability throughout the University.
Sustainability education and student well-being have been central to Flynn’s career. She received the Pitt Sustainability Award in 2019 and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation’s John C. Mascaro Faculty Lectureship in Sustainability in 2021 and 2022. She developed and teaches a Sustainable Food Systems course in Geology and Environmental Science, in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Flynn also developed and leads the Planetary Health in Practice interprofessional learning community, which brings together students from across the health science schools as well as the School of Social Work to explore how environmental, social and economic systems shape both human and planetary health, tackling issues like climate change, nutrition security, environmental justice and sustainable health care practices.
Amanda Artsen, right, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and of immunology, School of Medicine, has been appointed codirector of sustainability for the School of Medicine. She will serve alongside Noe Woods, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and codirector of sustainability, School of Medicine, who will continue her focus on sustainability in the medical school curriculum.
“This expanded leadership team reflects the office’s continued commitment and success in preparing the next generation of health care professionals to address the interconnected challenges of human health, environmental sustainability and health equity,” said Michael L. Boninger, Distinguished Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and associate dean for sustainability in the health sciences.
In her new role, Artsen will help expand faculty engagement and research collaborations focused on climate, health and environmentally responsible health care practices across the health sciences schools.
Health care sustainability has been a foundational focus of her career. She founded and chairs the Sustainability at Magee-Womens Research Institute Committee, cochairs the Magee Environmental Quality Team and sits on the steering committee of Clinicians for Climate Action. Her work with Melissa Bilec, George M. and Eva M. Bevier Professor and professor of civil and environmental engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, special assistant to the provost for sustainability and codirector of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, on the carbon footprint of surgical materials and processes has produced several manuscripts, and she is a founding member of the American Urogynecologic Society’s Healthcare Sustainability Special Interest Group. She was named a Pitt Sustainability Faculty Award recipient in 2025.