Dr. Maggie Sugg

Education

Ph.D., Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2015

M.A., Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2011

B.S., Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008

Research

My current research focuses on spatiotemporal patterns of health and how these patterns relate to environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic determinants. Using this perspective, my research provides insights into the etiology of environmental health diseases, highlighting both overburdened populations and the environmental conditions that lead to adverse health outcomes.

Receipt of the NSF CAREER Award, the highest honor given to early-career faculty from the National Science Foundation
Receipt of the Emerging Scholar Award from the Health and Medical Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers
Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, Appalachian State University
Provost Award, Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, Appalachian State University
Receipt of the Environmental Protection Agency's STAR Fellowship in Public Health
Recipient of external funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Gulf Research Program, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Public Health AmeriCorps, Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Dr. Sugg has authored or co-authored over 80 publications in various disciplines including public health, spatial epidemiology, geography, and climate science.

Click here to view my CV.

Click here to view my personal webpage.

Teaching

GHY 3005: Global Health and Diseases
GHY 4005: Geography of Health and Disease
GHY 5025: Climate and Society
GHY 5150: Seminar in GIScience
GHY 5800: Advanced Quantitative Methods for Graduate Students

Selected Publications

Ulrich, S.E.*, Sugg, M.M., Desjardins, M.R., and Runkle, J.D. (2024) “Disparities in Spatial Clustering of Perinatal Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Health & Place. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103307

Runkle, JD., Wertis, L.*, Reed, C., Ryan, S.*, Berry, A., and Sugg, M.M. (2024), “Prenatal Psychiatric Emergency Visits Attributable to Warm Ambient Temperature: A time-stratified case-crossover study” Environmental Health Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13293

Herbst, K.*, Malmin, N., Paul., S., Williamson, T., Sugg, M.M., Schreck C., and Runkle, J.D. (2024), “Examining recurrent hurricane exposure and psychiatric morbidity in Medicaid-insured pregnant populations” Plos One Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000040

Ryan, S.,* Wertis, L., Runkle, J.D., and Sugg, M.M. (2024), “Place-based differences in the association between greenspace and suicide-related outcomes among young people," Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.03.014

Williamson, T., Sugg, M.M, Singh, D., Green, S., & Runkle, J. D. (2024). Crisis response in Texas youth impacted by Hurricane Harvey: A difference-in-differences analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.080

Ryan, S.,* Sugg, M.M., Runkle, J.D., and Thapa, B. (2024), “Advancing Understanding on Greenspace and Mental Health in Young People," GeoHealth. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000959

Ryan, S.*, Sugg, M.M., J.D., Runkle, L. Wertis*, D. Singh, and S. Greene (2024), “Short-term changes in mental health help-seeking behaviors following exposure to multiple social stressors and a natural disaster” Social Science and Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116843

Runkle, J.D., K. Risley., Roy, M., and Sugg, M.M., (2023) “Association between perinatal mental health and reproductive and neonatal complications: a retrospective birth cohort study” Women’s Health Issues. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2022.12.001

Sugg, M.M., Runkle J.D., Ryan, S., Singh, D., Green, S., and Thompson, M., (2023) “A follow-up retrospective analysis of essential workers and their children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: 2020 - 2021” Public Health Reports https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549221148177

Sugg, M.M., Runkle J.D., Dow, K., Barnes, J., Stevens, S., Pearce, J., Bossak., B., and Curtis, S., (2022) “Individual Experienced Heat Index in a Coastal Southeastern US City among an Occupationally Exposed Population,” International Journal of Biometeorology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-022-02309-y

Sugg, M.M., J.D. Runkle, Hajnos, S*, Green, S. and Michael, K., (2022) “Understanding the Concurrent Risk of Mental Health and Dangerous Wildfire Events in the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Science of the Total Environment 806, 150391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150391

Sugg, M.M., Spaulding, T., Lane, S., Runkle, J., Harden, S.*, Hege, A., and Iyer, L. (2021). Mapping Community-Level Determinants of COVID-19 Transmission in Nursing Homes: A Multi-Scale Approach. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141946

Sugg, M.M., Runkle, J., Andersen, L, Weiser, J and Michael, K. (2021). “Crisis Response Among Essential Workers and their Children during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106852

Andersen, L., Harden, S.*, Sugg, M.M., Runkle, J., and Lundquist, T.* (2021). Analyzing The Spatial Determinants Of Local Covid-19 Transmission In The United States. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142396

Sugg, M. M., Fuhrmann, C. M., & Runkle, J. D. (2020). Geospatial Approaches to Measuring Personal Heat Exposure and Related Health Effects in Urban Settings. In Geospatial Technologies for Urban Health (pp. 13-30). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19573-1_2

Runkle, J.D., Sugg, M.M., Leeper, R.D., Rao, Y., Matthews, J.L., and Rennie, J.J. (2020). Short-term Effects of Specific Humidity and Temperature on COVID19 Morbidity in Select US cities. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140093

Runkle, J.D., Michael, K., Stevens, S., and Sugg, M.M. (2020). Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Text-based Crisis Patterns in Youth following Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas, 2018. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141702

Sugg, M.M., Michael, K., Stevens, S., Filbin, B., Weiser, J., and Runkle, J. (2019). Crisis Events in Youth following Celebrity Suicides and the Release of 13 Reasons Why Season 2: A Case Study of Summer 2018. Preventative Medicine Reports. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100999

Sugg, M.M., P. Grady Dixon, and J. Runkle (2019). Crisis Support-Seeking Behavior and Temperature in the United States: Is there an Association in Young Adults and Adolescents? Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.434

Click here to view more publications on my Google Scholar profile.