Air pollution poses a grave risk to the environment and the health and wellbeing of societies across the world. Researchers across the University of Edinburgh are undertaking vital work at the intersections of air pollution and respiratory health:

> Professor David Newby and Dr Mark Miller’s cardiovascular research group investigates the active interactions between cardiac and respiratory diseases and air pollution at the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM).

> A collaborative effort with organisations in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Pakistan, the Usher Institute’s NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE) researches respiratory diseases in the region.

> Professor Ruth Doherty of the School of Geosciences is leading a network project called HEICCAM with co-investigators Professor Jamie Pearce and Dr Tom Clemens, probing into the health and equity impacts of climate change mitigation measures on indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure.

> The Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate of the Anthropocene research group are researching the intersections of air pollution and respiratory health. Their work informs high-level reports such as those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution.

Today, we live in an increasingly warming world, directly impacting the transmission of communicable and infectious diseases. The University’s research power into disease and climate change cuts across various fields:

> The Global Health Academy’s Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa (TIBA) partnership – funded by the National Institute for Health Research – is an Africa-led project that aims to reduce the threat of infectious diseases in Africa by strengthening health systems and policy, with the scope to benefit about 50 million people.

> Many research groups across the University, like the Una Europa-One Health Alliance are working to understand the impact of environmental interactions on human and animal health, and the spread of infectious diseases.

> Professor Lisa Boden of College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM) and Dr Rebecca Marsland of the School of Social and Political Sciences also undertake research in this area.

One of the pressing concerns facing us today is the widespread effects of rising temperatures and heat on human health. Our interdisciplinary, data-driven work in this area includes:

> In a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) funded project, Prof Jamie Cross of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), in a collaboration with Dr Daniel Friedrich of the School of Engineering and the IFRC, is probing into the effects of extreme heat and Covid-19 on the poor populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia.

> Two seed funding collaborations with Cornell University awarded in December 2022 have heat at the forefront – the ‘Making the Thermal Future’ and ‘GEOHUB’ projects.

> Furthering the heat-health nexus, Professor Rebecca Reynolds of the Centre for Cardiovascular Science, researches the impact of heat exposure on maternal health in Malawi.  

The University of Edinburgh houses numerous research projects concerning food production systems, nutrition, and health:

> The GCRF funded South Asian Nitrogen Hub project, led by Professor Dave Reay of the School of Geosciences is one such example.

> Professor Lindsay Jaacks’s project aims to understand how a reduction in meat intake can prevent climate change and the spread of non-communicable diseases.

> The Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action, launched in 2021 with the support of five global partners, engages with agencies that work with farmers to develop and apply digital and analytical tools to ensure food security, nutrition, and livelihoods.

> Professor Geoff Simm, Director of the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, wide-ranging research activities have looked at sustainable healthy diets, sustainable use of farm animals and genetic resources, improving global food security, among others.  

Edinburgh researchers carry out a wide range of research focussed on risk, modelling and global shocks, adapting to climate change and reducing emissions:

> The Centre for Adapting to Changing Environment (ACE) leads the Adapt.Ed project that brings together researchers working on adaptation from across the institution.

> The Edinburgh Climate Change Institute‘s (ECCI) partnerships with the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), Sniffer and ClimateXChange, to name a few, are also central to University’s contributions in this area.

> The Science for Sustainability Hub nucleates academic activity at the University of Edinburgh that pioneer technological solutions toward a sustainable future for our people and the planet. The Hub acts as a portal to build engagement across research, industry, government and civil society to build a new vision for a sustainable future.

> ECCI’s Co-Director Kate Crowley is a Lecturer in Climate Risk and Resilience in the School of GeoSciences and has worked as an applied researcher, project manager and practitioner in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) within the UK and internationally. ECCI hosted the UK Alliance for Disaster Research Annual Conference in December 2022.

> Dr Lars Schewe is a Reader in Operational Research at the School of Mathematics, recently leading a project with National Grid ESO on outage planning. While seconded to the Edinburgh Earth Initiative in 2022, he focused on building connections between the School of Mathematics and other Schools and external partners.

The University is a national leader on data-driven  research and expertise, with many applications in climate and health:

> The Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action is just one example of The University of Edinburgh’s multiple outstanding, data-driven responses to the climate crisis.

> Led by Professor Chris Dibben, The Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR) is a cross-institution partnership that seeks to utilize and analyze data to inform policy and practice and contribute to evidence-based decision making.

> Dr Claudia Pagliari, based in the Usher Institute, directs the Interdisciplinary Research Group in eHealth, uniting the disciplines of science and technology studies, biomedical ethics, management science, data science, and policy studies.  

> EPCC, a Centre of Excellence at the University of Edinburgh, is the UK’s leading centre of Supercomputing and Data Science expertise. EPCC provides world-class computing systems, data storage and support services, with many applications for climate change and health.

> Edinburgh’s dedicated Space & Satellite Team in Bayes works closely with the Edinburgh International Data Facility which hosts large volumes of satellite and other geo-spatial data to enable new research and analysis in areas such as air pollution and asthma, food security and public health.

The University of Edinburgh’s research across the themes of air pollution and respiratory health, disease, heat, food, and adaptation and mitigation, are all rooted in a commitment to justice and equity. Examples include:

> The Data for Children Collaborative fosters collaborations between academia and the public, private, and third sector to bolster conversations around climate and health. The group partnered with UNICEF on the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), which ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, in addition to their vulnerability to these shocks, providing a strong advocacy tool for those people in the world who have the least influence on the environmental problems facing us today.

> The One Health FIELD Network for Fragile and Conflict Affected States (FCAS) was launched in 2019 by Professor Lisa Boden, with the aim of bringing together diverse, multidisciplinary expertise to increase food system resilience and support both short and long-term sustainable development in fragile and complex contexts, working initially in Syria and across the Middle East.