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 the spatiotemporal patterns of environmental health illnesses and how these patterns relate to environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic determinants. This research is guided by the social-ecological approach of vulnerability theory, which investigates the complex interplay between the environmental and social/economic aspects of a community. Using this theory, my research provides insights into the etiology of environmental-health diseases, highlighting both at risk populations and the environmental conditions that lead to adverse health outcomes. Presently, I have three main topical research interests: 1.) Environmental Exposure and Wearable Sensor Technology 2.) Mental Distress among Adolescents 3.) Indicators of Vulnerability and Resilience in the southeastern US.
Click here to view my personal webpage.
Teaching
- GHY 3812: Geographic Information Systems
- 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
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.
Public Media Outreach
Dr. Maggie Sugg Receives NSF’s Most Prestigious Award in Support of Early-Career Faculty
Dr. Maggie Sugg Discusses Adaptability to Extreme Heat (The Atlantic)
Dr. Maggie Sugg Interviewed About Local Perceptions of Heat (FiveThirtyEight)
Dr. Maggie Sugg Interviewed About COVID-19 Seasonality (The Scientist)
Recent Master Theses Supervised
Garry Raynor - Geographic Variations Of Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories In North Carolina (2017)
Anna Ross - Recreational Heat-Related Illness: Heat Exposure Outside The Work Week (2016)

Title: Associate Professor & Department Honors Director
Department: Geography and Planning
Email address: Email me
Office address
Rankin Science West 359Attachments
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Curriculum Vitae | document | 295.72 KB |