About

Korine N. Kolivras is associated with the Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) at Virginia Tech, which collaborates across research, education, and outreach with a transdisciplinary approach, addressing complex problems with geospatial science. The center focuses on applying geospatial science to improve quality of life, environment, and community through smart decision making, utilizing extensive knowledge in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to develop powerful, user-friendly geospatial tools. CGIT's work involves transforming spatial data into secure, intuitive decision-making tools that empower agencies, researchers, and communities across the Commonwealth, with applications ranging from highway safety and crash analysis to statewide broadband and environmental initiatives. The center's research fuses geospatial science, software engineering, and user experience design to develop applications that translate complex datasets into practical insights, supporting decision-makers in mapping risk, tracking infrastructure, and forecasting change.

Research topics

• Geography
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Environmental health
• Demography
• Computer Security
• Sociology
• Medical emergency
• Meteorology
• Geology
• Internal medicine
• Gerontology
• Environmental science
• Emergency medicine
• Engineering
• Biology
• Aerospace engineering

Selected publications

• Transformative Pathways for Strengthening Climate‐Resilient Health Systems Among Indigenous Communities: Advancing Equity and Sustainability in Global Health

  Sustainable Development · 2026-01-06

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Most climate‐resilience health interventions are designed at the global level, with minimal attention to Indigenous communities' needs. The lack of consideration can lead to unintended harm and exacerbate health risks. This study aims to identify the capacities of Indigenous communities that can serve as transformative pathways in safely adopting global climate‐resilient health approaches within Indigenous contexts, ensuring the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as Good Health and Well‐being (SDG3) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). The World Health Organization's climate‐resilient health systems approach was used as a starting point to identify the transformative pathways. We collaborated with the Indigenous Peoples' Observatory Network (IPON) and conducted key informant interviews ( n = 17) with partners who maintain ongoing collaborations with Indigenous communities across 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. The interview process was guided by two objectives: (i) to identify and examine how transformative pathways contribute to climate‐resilient health systems and (ii) to provide recommendations for strengthening transformative pathways based on key informants' insights. We identified five transformative pathways to support the resilience of health systems to climate change risks: (i) government‐community interactions, (ii) traditional medicine and spiritual beliefs, (iii) experience‐based practices, (iv) community‐based collective actions, and (v) community‐based policies. Based on the key informant interviews, we provide three recommendations to enhance the identified transformative pathways: (i) Indigenous mentorship in knowledge, health education, and research, (ii) identify opportunities to develop an Indigenous inclusive health workforce, and (iii) enhance indigeneity in health policies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Climatic Drivers of Malaria Incidence: A Study in Naikhongchhari Subdistrict, Bandarban, Bangladesh

  Weather Climate and Society · 2025-10-01

  article

  Abstract In the fight to eliminate malaria from its borders, Bangladesh continues to have the disease entrenched in 13 of its 64 districts, and the mechanisms that explain the persistence of malaria particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) are poorly understood. Previous work in other study areas has noted the importance of specific climate and weather conditions that support malaria outbreaks, and an understanding of those relationships in Bangladesh’s endemic area will aid in efforts to control and eventually eliminate the disease. To identify the climatic factors associated with malaria in these areas, this study investigates the relationship between climatic variables and malaria incidence in the Naikhongchhari subdistrict of Bandarban, in the CHTs of Bangladesh, over a 10-yr period from 2013 to 2022. Malaria case data were obtained from nongovernmental organization registry books, while meteorological data on rainfall and temperature were sourced from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The cross-correlation analysis and multiple linear regression models were employed to understand temporal associations between climatic variables and malaria cases. The results reveal significant correlations between rainfall, temperature, and malaria incidence, with spikes in temperature and rainfall preceding increases in malaria cases. In particular, lags of 3 and 1 months are important for temperature and precipitation, respectively. These findings underscore the importance of considering climatic factors in malaria surveillance, control, and education efforts with respect to how malaria prevention can be focused during times in which outbreaks are most likely. Specifically, our findings will support Bangladesh’s efforts to eliminate malaria by supporting an early warning system during which public health support teams can concentrate malaria control and education campaigns in the weeks and months that are likely leading up to an outbreak, given certain weather conditions.

  PublisherDOI

• A conceptual framework to improve climate-resilient health among Indigenous communities

  Environmental Science & Policy · 2025-04-14 · 3 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Commentary: The Precarious Position of Teaching as a Graduate Student

  DigitalCommons - Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw State University) · 2024-08-31 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Although elementary and secondary education teachers often undertake years of schooling and practice before taking charge of the classroom, graduate students can be called upon as instructors shortly after their f irst arrival to campus . With little time to review or develop course elements, graduate students are thrown headfirst into dealing with the dramatic daily role reversal of being both a student and a professor . This article, in contrast to formal pedagogy papers, provides a narrative by a graduate student intended for fellow graduate students about to assume the title of instructor . It is an informal collection of teaching advice learned the hard way, including why introductory geography is a great introduction to teaching, some specific tips for first time instructors, and the advisor’s perspective on the experience .

  Publisher

• "Dying of Thirst, Like Fish in the Sea": / "Muriéndonos de sed, como peces en el mar:" Syndemic Health Impacts and Environmental Risk Perceptions Associated with Mining among the Ch'orti' of Eastern Guatemala / impactos sindémicos en la salud y percepciones de riesgo ambiental asociadas con la minería entre los Ch'orti' del oriente de Guatemala

  Journal of Latin American geography · 2024-06-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  abstract: Metal mining is associated with negative social, political, economic, health, and environmental impacts. These individual impacts are generally understood, but a deeper understanding of the combined syndemic effects of mining, particularly in Indigenous communities, is needed, especially as metal mining is expected to grow with the expansion of cleaner energy technologies. Perceptions of environmental risk and human health in Ch'orti' communities of Olopa, Guatemala, that have been impacted by the Cantera Los Manantiales antimony mine were examined via a community-based participatory research approach that included participatory mapping, interviews, and community mapping workshops. Results indicate increased violence and community divisions, increased incidence of health concerns, and an extensive loss of crops and domesticated animals following the introduction of mining operations. Furthermore, participants attributed both water and air contamination to the mine. We argue that our collective results present as a syndemic and represent a continuation of violence toward Indigenous people. Findings will support local leaders and allied research and legal organizations in efforts to effectively access justice and assess health in Indigenous communities impacted by the mine in Olopa. More broadly, this effort demonstrates how participatory mapping methods add nuance to the understanding of syndemics and other environmental health risks. resumen: La minería metálica está asociada con impactos sociales, políticos, económicos, de salud, y ambientales negativos. Estos impactos individuales generalmente se comprenden, pero se necesita una comprensión más profunda de los efectos sindémicos combinados de la minería, particularmente en las comunidades indígenas, especialmente porque se espera que la minería metálica crezca con la expansión de tecnologías de energía más limpias. Las percepciones de riesgo ambiental y salud humana en las comunidades Ch'orti' de Olopa, Guatemala, que han sido impactadas por la mina de antimonio Cantera Los Manantiales, fueron examinadas a través de un enfoque de investigación participativa basado en la comunidad que incluyó mapeo participativo, entrevistas y talleres de mapeo comunitario. Los resultados indican un aumento de la violencia y las divisiones comunitarias, una mayor incidencia de problemas de salud y una gran pérdida de cultivos y animales domesticados tras la introducción de operaciones mineras. Además, los participantes atribuyeron a la mina la contaminación del agua y del aire. Sostenemos que nuestros resultados colectivos se presentan como una sindemia y representan una continuación de la violencia hacia los pueblos indígenas. Los hallazgos apoyarán a los líderes locales y a las organizaciones jurídicas y de investigación aliadas en sus esfuerzos por acceder eficazmente a la justicia y evaluar la salud de las comunidades indígenas afectadas por la mina en Olopa. Este proyecto también demuestra cómo los métodos de mapeo participativo añaden matices a la comprensión de las sindemias y otros riesgos para la salud ambiental.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Continued Emergence of Lyme Disease in Appalachia

  The University Press of Kentucky eBooks · 2024-11-02

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Unregulated drinking water contaminants and adverse birth outcomes in Virginia

  PLOS Water · 2024-05-01

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), the Environmental Protection Agency monitors selected unregulated drinking water contaminants of potential concern. While contaminants listed in the UCMR are monitored, they do not have associated health-based standards, so no action is required following detection. Given evolving understanding of incidence and the lack of numeric standards, previous examinations of health implications of drinking water generally only assess impacts of regulated contaminants. Little research has examined associations between unregulated contaminants and fetal health. This study individually assesses whether drinking water contaminants monitored under UCMR 2 and, with a separate analysis, UCMR 3, which occurred during the monitoring years 2008–2010 and 2013–2015 respectively, are associated with fetal health outcomes, including low birth weight (LBW), term-low birth weight (tLBW), and preterm birth (PTB) in Virginia. Singleton births (n = 435,449) that occurred in Virginia during UCMR 2 and UCMR 3 were assigned to corresponding estimated water service areas (n = 435,449). Contaminant occurrence data were acquired from the National Contaminant Occurrence Database, with exposure defined at the estimated service area level to limit exposure misclassification. Logistic regression models for each birth outcome assessed potential associations with unregulated drinking water contaminants. Within UCMR 2, N-Nitroso-dimethylamine was positively associated with PTB (OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.14, P = 0.01). Molybdenum (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.97, P = 0.0) and vanadium (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.92, 1.00, P = 0.04), monitored under UCMR 3, were negatively associated with LBW. Molybdenum was also negatively associated (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.99, P = 0.03) with tLBW, though chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) was positively associated (OR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.37, P = 0.03) with tLBW. These findings indicate that unregulated drinking water contaminants may pose risks to fetal health and demonstrate the potential to link existing health data with monitoring data when considering drinking water regulatory determinations at the national scale.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Examining the association between safe drinking water act violations and adverse birth outcomes in Virginia

  Environmental Research · 2022-12-01 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Estimating changes in emergency department visits associated with floods caused by Tropical Storm Imelda using satellite observations and syndromic surveillance

  Health & Place · 2022-02-04 · 18 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Spatial Variable Selection and An Application to Virginia Lyme Disease Emergence

  Figshare · 2022-01-01

  datasetOpen access

  Lyme disease is an infectious disease, that is, caused by a bacterium called <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> sensu stricto. In the United States, Lyme disease is one of the most common infectious diseases. The major endemic areas of the disease are New England, Mid-Atlantic, East-North Central, South Atlantic, and West North-Central. Virginia is on the front-line of the disease’s diffusion from the northeast to the south. One of the research objectives for the infectious disease community is to identify environmental and economic variables that are associated with the emergence of Lyme disease. In this article, we use a spatial Poisson regression model to link the spatial disease counts and environmental and economic variables, and develop a spatial variable selection procedure to effectively identify important factors by using an adaptive elastic net penalty. The proposed methods can automatically select important covariates, while adjusting for possible spatial correlations of disease counts. The performance of the proposed method is studied and compared with existing methods via a comprehensive simulation study. We apply the developed variable selection methods to the Virginia Lyme disease data and identify important variables that are new to the literature. Supplementary materials for this article, including a standardized description of the materials available for reproducing the work, are available as an online supplement.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Environmental Variability and Disease Emergence: Spatial Patterns of Lyme Disease Emergence in Virginia

  NSF · $200k · 2011–2014

Frequent coauthors

• Julia M. Gohlke

  16 shared

• Ubydul Haque

  10 shared

• Andrew C. Comrie

  University of Arizona

  10 shared

• Leigh‐Anne Krometis

  Virginia Tech

  8 shared

• Yili Hong

  8 shared

• Samarth Swarup

  University of Virginia

  8 shared

• David N. Gaines

  Virginia Department of Health

  7 shared

• Lauren Buttling

  Virginia Tech

  6 shared

Labs

• Center for Geospatial Information TechnologyPI

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Awards & honors

• Spatiotemporal analysis of adverse birth outcomes in Central…
• Zooming In On Adverse Birth Outcomes in Coalfield Regions of…
• Environmental Variability and Disease Emergence: Spatial Pat…