IWR News New IWR Member: Dr. Sandra Barteit

Dr. Sandra Barteit is the head of the research group Digital Global Health at the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health at Heidelberg University Hospital. With a broad interdisciplinary background in artificial intelligence, data science, digital education technologies, and global health, her research focuses on investigating global health challenges, particularly in vulnerable populations in Africa and Asia. 

Her expertise includes developing and implementing e-learning programs, applying machine learning, and integrating sensor-based technologies such as wearables, remote sensing, and weather stations to continuously measure the health impacts of climate change at an individual level, connecting measurement points, and identifying risk clusters that lead to targeted interventions.

At the center of her current work is the PULSE-AI project, which is funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation with 1.5 million euros. This innovative research project uses graph databases and artificial intelligence to investigate the impacts of climate change on health in vulnerable populations. Wearable sensors and environmental measurement stations are used to collect real-time data and recognize patterns that indicate health risks due to heat and other climate factors. The goal is to develop scientifically grounded, scalable health interventions that can be implemented particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

In addition to her research, Sandra Barteit is also active in teaching. She leads the elective course track Global Health and teaches courses in global health and research methods. Furthermore, she supervises students in various projects dealing with health impacts of climate change. Her academic career includes a Dr.sc.hum. degree in Global Health from Heidelberg University, as well as master's degrees in Data Analytics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master's degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at HEC Paris, and a Magister Artium in Computational Linguistics.