Environment and Health Interactions

"Environment and Health Interactions" adopts a One Health approach, examining how organismal and population health is achieved and maintained by considering intrinsic (biotic) and extrinsic (abiotic) factors and their interactions.

Research spans a multilevel approach from genes and cell lines to animals and humans, addressing environmentally induced disease states at organismal, population, and ecosystem scales. Goals include:

• Investigating how disruptions in development or homeostasis lead to disease.
• Understanding genetic factors modulating diseases.
• Assessing the impact of environmental factors and human actions on non-communicable diseases like cancer, as well as infectious and vector-borne diseases.
• Studying the health effects of anthropogenic and natural pollutants on humans and other organisms.
• Examining mechanisms of biological resilience to global changes.

Utilising various model organisms, including Drosophila, Zebrafish, Chicken, and Mouse, and assessing the impact of multiple pathogens on human and cattle health, research benefits from extensive laboratory facilities such as cell culture rooms, fly rooms, animal facilities, microscopy facilities, and fully equipped molecular biology, developmental biology, physiology, genetics, and entomology labs. This research area is supported by nine research groups specialising in areas from cellular, genetic, and developmental analyses to epidemiology, ecotoxicology, and risk assessment.

Coordination