Planetary Health

WORKSHOP LEADER: Dr Suzanne Bartington, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham

Planetary Health is a newly defined specialty which interlinks environmental and human health, and chimes with the ethos of the Sustainable Development Goals. It came to prominence as a specialty with the publication of The Lancet Commission on Planetary Health in 2015. The Commission led to a new journal, The Lancet Planetary Health. Expertise at Birmingham University is well placed to address issues relating to Planetary Health and this meeting aims to bring experts together to explore potential collaborations. 

This workshop will explore the global planetary health landscape and investigate existing and future research synergies and linkages between these universal themes of health, environmental and sustainable development. The expectation is that by gathering internal and external interdisciplinary academic expertise, we will examine how the health impacts of environmental exposures and transitions manifest in regional, national and international settings, therefore identifying emerging risks to human and ecosystem health and evidence-based strategies to mitigate these threats.

The event is a university-wide initiative, bringing together an emerging critical mass of health, environment and sustainable development research within the Institute of Applied Health Research (IAHR) and Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES), and other relevant academics, including the Business School, Law School and International Development Department. The interactive format will provide a forum to share a diverse range of existing research capabilities and insights across physical, social sciences, law, development and applied health research among other disciplines.

A confirmed keynote external speaker is Dr Lindsay Jaacks (Assistant Professor of Global Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) to share her research which focuses on improving understanding of the global drivers of the epidemiological transition from communicable to NCDs. Specifically, she is interested in the complex interactions between nutritional and environmental exposures within the food system and the role that these interactions play in the aetiology of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

To provide expert insight regarding the emerging discipline of sustainable health systems development, we plan to host Professor David Pencheon, founder of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter, UK, and member of the Advisory Group to the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, a newly created transdisciplinary centre.

To be followed by a drinks reception in the Green Heart.