Team members

Kathi Zangerl, Dr. med. univ., M.Sc.           

Kathi Zangerl is a specialist pediatrician with over a decade of clinical experience in Germany, Switzerland and Nepal. With an MSc in International Child Health from UCL Institute of Global Health, her research started to focus on child health policy within the context of climate change adaptation. Since 2021, she has joined HIGH, where she is dedicated to advancing child health policy concerning global preparedness under climate change. Her research investigates various drivers that could enhance child health inclusion in policy formulation, as well as exploring co-creation methods to develop child-centered policies and adaptation interventions.

Kathi has been developing an active registry of heat-related illnesses in Germany with cooperation of the German Pediatric Surveillance Unit (ESPED), assessing the impact of heat on the child´s body functions. Delving into children's perceptions of climate change and its effects, her research employs different child-specific co-creation methods to inform intervention design, prioritizing the needs of children. As a working group member of the Competence Network Preventive Medicine, Kathi aims to contribute a pediatric viewpoint on risk factors related to climate change and child health, further informing potential future interventions. Additionally, she actively collaborates with local and regional stakeholders to ensure the practical application of her research findings.

Kathi's scientific journey is driven by her commitment to enhancing child health outcomes amidst the challenges of climate change.

Hans-Jörg Lang; MD, PHD, FRCPCH-UK

Hans-Jörg Lang, a medical graduate from Berlin and Freiburg, Germany, underwent specialized training in paediatric intensive care medicine in the UK. For several years, he has collaborated with development and humanitarian organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa and briefly in Afghanistan, including MSF, ALIMA, and GIZ/CIM. His primary focus is on capacity building and research projects, with a particular interest in  improving access to 'essential paediatric emergency and critical care’ for vulnerable populations.

Hans-Jörg Lang has actively participated in international responses to Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreaks, notably in DR-Congo (2019/2020), Guinea (2021), Sudan EBOV outbreak in Uganda (2022), and the Marburg virus outbreak in Equatorial Guinea (2023). He has contributed to technical working groups guided by the World Health Organization (WHO), focusing on areas such as Filovirus clinical care training, guideline development programs (e.g. Filovirus clinical care, Diphtheria care), O2-oxygen access strategies, and the design of rapidly deployable treatment units for high-consequence infectious diseases, as well as the standard setting for emergency medical teams in international responses to epidemics. Additionally, Hans-Jörg Lang contributes to the review of guidelines within the paediatric surviving sepsis campaign network and participates in scientific committees of the World Federation of Paediatric Intensive and Critical Care Society.

Furthermore, Hans-Jörg takes an interest in climate-resilient health system activities such as climate-responsive health facility configuration and the use of renewable energy with the aim to  improve access to essential paediatric and newborn care in low-resource contexts, particularly for populations facing humanitarian challenges.

As a member of HIGH, Hans-Jörg will contribute to the efforts of the multidisciplinary team in the context of global child health. Additionally, he will continue to work as a paediatric and critical care referent for the NGO Alliance for International Medical Action based in Dakar, Senegal.