Dr. Brinkley’s research centers One Health, a concept that considers health shared among humans, animals and the environment. With a PhD in city and regional planning, a veterinary medical degree, and a masters in virology, her research focuses on health equity and design in partnership with communities. For example, she is the lead architect for a plan search engine that enables greater community engagement in plan-making by allowing users to see which topics are address in over 500+ California plans (Launched in 2023, PlanSearch.caes.ucdavis.edu). She is a former Fulbright Scholar, Watson Fellow, and National Science Foundation Career Award Winner. Her work is used internationally by the United Nations Food Agriculture Organization as well as local communities to guide plans and policies.

Research Interests
Planning for Healthy Communities
-Food Security: healthy food access, diet-related health, land-use planning, street food vending
-Community Energy: planning for distributed energy solutions, sustainable development, decarbonization, reducing vehicle miles travelled

Teaching
CRD 158: Community Governance
CRD 152: Community Development
CRD 200: Health and Planning

Study Abroad: Sustainable Cities of Northern Europe