We are pleased to announce that La Isla Network’s Dr. Catharina (Ineke) Wesseling has been named to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, Costa Rica, in recognition of her immense contribution to the fields of environmental and occupational epidemiology. In 2003, Ineke was instrumental in establishing SALTRA, a university-based program on work and health in Central America encompassing multiple geographies and industries throughout the region. Ineke then expanded this research agenda by transferring her knowledge to La Isla Network, where she has been instrumental to the continued growth and success of our mission to protect workers from the fatal effects of heat in a warming world.
Below are some reflections of Ineke’s colleagues and friends on the foundational impact her work has had on the region. We are so thankful to have her on the team at LIN, and are honored to celebrate this important achievement with her!
Jason Glaser
CEO
“Ineke’s contributions to La Isla Network, as both a brilliant researcher and trusted friend, are immeasurable. Her trailbrailblazing work on occupational and environmental epidemiology has been foundational to advancing global awareness of the CKDnt crisis and to developing the interventions necessary to confront it in an ever warming world. Ineke has been an unequaled mentor, inspiration, and tutor to two generations of researchers, and has furthered the field of occupational health and epidemiology in Central America and beyond.”
Ilana Weiss
Senior Director of Public Health and Policy
“Ineke is the reason I do the work I do. Her mentorship has made our research together of the highest quality and her companionship has made it enjoyable! Congratulations on this much deserved honor, Ineke!”
Jennifer Crowe, PhD
SALTRA
“Dr. Wesseling is a visionary thinker who has done an incredible amount to further environmental and occupational health in Central America. It is fantastic to see this honor bestowed upon a woman who has advanced the field of environmental and occupational epidemiology over the course of her career and had a profound impact on many researchers and students across multiple decades.”
David H Wegman, MD, MSc
Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Being named to the National Academy of Sciences, Costa Rica is a great honor for Ineke. She is now recognized to be in the top echelon of scientists in the country joining the small number of honorees who represent both basic and applied science with distinction.
Her election to the Academy recognizes her remarkable accomplishments as an academic, a scientific leader, an innovator and a practitioner deeply committed to undertaking work that directly contributes to improving the health of all Costa Ricans. Moreover, her work has had an important impact on the global understanding of the epidemic of Mesoamerican Nephropathy. This work includes making a sound scientific case for acting now on what is known about causality and prevention of this dire condition even in the face of uncertainty.
Ineke has few peers anywhere when it comes to being a rigorous scientist dedicated to applying the lessons from science to public health practice. Many have benefitted from her knowledge and leadership including junior scientists who have learned from her, senior scientists who have gained from her intense commitment to effective collaboration, and most important to her, the affected populations whose lives have been improved by her work.
I had the pleasure to serve as Ineke’s “opponent” at the public defense of her quite original doctoral work on pesticide exposures among banana workers when she completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Sweden. At that event she demonstrated many qualities that have come to characterize her contributions throughout her career: complete preparation, comprehensive understanding of relevant subject matter, unusual skill in synthesizing data, always staying within her knowledge base, readily seeking answers to questions she might have, and never failing to say “I don’t know” when she does not know. In sum, I choose to use the term “unique” to describe Ineke – there is no one comparable!
