Mary B. Rice, MD, MPH
Director, Institute for Lung Health
Director of Research
Associate Professor of Medicine
Academic Interests
Dr. Rice’s research focuses on preventable causes of chronic lung disease in children and adults, including environmental exposures such as air pollution, climate, aeroallergens and microbes. Dr. Rice is the Director of the BIDMC Institute for Lung Health, a multi-disciplinary respiratory research program that applies advanced statistical and sampling methodologies in clinical populations with chronic lung disease and multiple U.S.-based prospective cohort studies of children and adults. A core mission is to identify preventable causes of chronic lung disease, and to translate research findings into patient care and health policies that improve lung health. Dr. Rice’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Rice is the recipient of the 2016 American Thoracic Society (ATS) David Bates award for her contributions to the field of environmental, occupational and population health. In 2020, she received the Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science from the American Thoracic Society, a national award recognizing tomorrow’s leaders in science. From 2018 to 2021, she chaired the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee, and is an active member of several ATS committees. Dr. Rice is the co-editor of the section on environmental science and health of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. In 2020, Dr. Rice received an NIEHS Outstanding New Environmental Scientist award to conduct a randomized controlled trial of air purification in the homes of patients with eosinophilic COPD.
A complete list of active projects can be found on the BIDMC Institute for Lung Health.
More information can be found on Dr. Rice's Harvard Catalyst Profile.
+Current Projects
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Home Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD (PI)
The American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort (Study Co-I, lead for environmental health research)
Clinical Genetics and Screening for Pulmonary Fibrosis (Study Co-I, lead for environmental health research)
Climate Change and Respiratory Health in Cohort Studies of Children and Adults (Mentor)