BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Maggie Sugg, associate professor and honors director in the Appalachian State University Department of Geography and Planning, is the co-recipient of a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Research, Innovation, Synergies, and Education to establish a Research Coordination Network (RCN) for studying flood-health resilience in Appalachia. Sugg and Dr. Jennifer Runkle (North Carolina State University) serve as the project's co-principal investigators.
The five-year grant was awarded as part of the NSF's Capacity Building to Catalyze Collaborations to Address Climate Change Impacts on Human Health (C2H2) program, established by the NSF to address the increasing human health impacts resulting from climate change and downstream impacts from climate mitigation strategies. Researchers were invited to submit proposals for a variety of approaches, including developing conference presentations, collaborating with private health and medical entities, and establishing RCNs. RCNs advance knowledge through discussion and coordination of research, training, and educational activities across disciplinary and organizational boundaries.
As demonstrated by the catastrophic impacts of Tropical Storm Helene in 2024, rural mountain communities like Appalachia face increasing risks from extreme weather events like inland flooding. These communities experience disproportionate health consequences from such disasters, yet receive limited research attention and resources compared to coastal and urban areas. The RCN established by Sugg and her colleagues aims to identify evidence-based strategies for enhancing flood resilience, developing targeted adaptation solutions, and reducing health disparities in rural communities through an interdisciplinary collaboration between geoscientists, public health professionals, social scientists, and community leaders.
The RCN will operate through five interdisciplinary working groups addressing critical themes:
Geophysical and weather-related disaster modeling for flood prediction, developing high-resolution flood forecasting models tailored to rural and mountainous regions;
Flood exposure and health outcomes, investigating short-term and long-term health effects of inland flooding;
Social and economic dimensions of flood vulnerability, exploring how structural and sociodemographic factors shape resilience;
Infrastructure resilience and adaptation strategies, assessing flooding impacts on essential systems in communities with limited resources; and
Community-led adaptation and policy implementation, collaborating with stakeholders to integrate indigenous knowledge systems into resilience planning.
The team will implement a structured five-year coordination plan featuring virtual meetings, collaborative sessions, pilot funding opportunities for innovative research, and the development of a digital platform for data sharing, community engagement, and knowledge dissemination. Additionally, they plan to tackle methodological challenges in flood hazard assessment by integrating cutting-edge atmospheric and environmental data with health and socioeconomic indicators, creating a more comprehensive framework for understanding and mitigating flood impacts in rural communities. Through these coordinated efforts, this RCN will produce peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and community-engaged research products that advance scientific knowledge and inform practical resilience strategies for Appalachia and rural regions globally.
Nearly $114,000 of the total funding will support research at App State conducted by Sugg in collaboration with faculty and students in the departments of Biology, Economics, Geography and Planning, Geological and Environmental Sciences, and Public Health and Exercise Science. "The team plans to begin projects related to Tropical Storm Helene with a focus on health effects post-Helene, damage and aid distribution, and identifying research needs among community members," explained Sugg.
Sugg earned her B.S. in Biology and M.S. and Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined the App State Department of Geography and Planning as an assistant professor in 2015 and was promoted to associate professor in 2021. Her research interests include climate and health, human vulnerability to environmental hazards, public health, and spatial statistics. The recipient of the 2019 College of Arts and Sciences William C. Strickland Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and 2022 Provost's Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, Sugg has published over 90 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles since 2015. Last year, Sugg was awarded over $1.5 million to study climate disasters and youth mental health.
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About the Department of Geography and Planning
The Department of Geography and Planning promotes the understanding of the spatial dimensions of human behavior within the physical and cultural systems of the earth, and the role of planning in achieving improvement in those systems. The department offers degrees in geography and in community and regional planning. Learn more at geo.appstate.edu.
About RIEEE
Established in 2008, Appalachian State University’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics (RIEEE) fosters interdisciplinary research on sustainable solutions to complex problems. RIEEE enhances the research enterprise by supporting faculty in synthesizing and pursuing their visions for high impact research, developing institutional capacity for collaborative productivity, building shared research infrastructures, and multiplying opportunities through the growth of transdisciplinary networks. Learn more at rieee.appstate.edu.
Written by Lauren Gibbs
Edited by Dr. Maggie Sugg
July 9, 2025
BOONE, N.C.
Dr. Maggie Sugg is an associate professor and the honors director in the Appalachian State University Department of Geography and Planning.
Dr. Maggie Sugg is an associate professor and the honors director in the Appalachian State University Department of Geography and Planning.