Jonilda Kushta

User Engagement and Partnership Specialist
Forecast, User Outreach and Engagement

Summary:

Dr. Kushta holds the role of User Engagement and Partnership Specialist for the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service National Collaboration programme (CAMS NCP). Contributing to the implementation of the CAMS NCP, she is responsible for dialogues with country representatives and the technical management of actions related to the uptake and efficient use of CAMS products in support of air quality, pollen, dust monitoring and GHG emissions. 

She is based at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts offices in Bonn, and she also leads the thematic development of the Copernicus Health Hub.

Professional interests:

Dr. Jonilda Kushta has more than 15 years of scientific and operational experience related to:

  • online integrated air quality modelling tools
  • policy-oriented AQ and emissions applications
  • atmospheric cycle of natural aerosols
  • health impacts of air pollution
Career background:

Education:

  • Dr. Jonilda Kushta received her B.Sc. in Physics, M.Sc. in Environmental Physics / Meteorology and PhD in Meteorology / Atmospheric Modeling from the University of Athens, Greece in 2002, 2006 and 2014 respectively.
  • In her PhD thesis she developed an integrated atmospheric modeling system for the simulation of coupled physical and chemical processes (EUROCONTROL fellowship).

Professional experience:

  • She was a research assistant from 2009-2014 at University of Athens, participating in projects focusing on air quality, high resolution weather forecasting systems, atmospheric processes and climate change.
  • She joined the Cyprus Institute in 2015 as a post-doctoral fellow, to work on atmospheric modeling, air pollution processes and health impacts.
  • In 2022 she became a Research Scientist at the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) coordinating two teams, 1) Air Pollutant and Greenhouse Gases Emissions Compilation and Reporting and 2) Regional Air Quality Modelling. 
  • Since January 2025 she holds the role of User Engagement and Partnership Specialist for the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service National Collaboration programme (CAMS NCP) and she also leads the thematic development of the Copernicus Health Hub.