ECEHH appoints new director

Professor Lora Fleming is a leading expert in the environment and public health

The European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) has appointed Professor Lora Fleming as its new director.

Michael Depledge, who has been interim director, will continue in his role as chairman of the advisory board.

Fleming joins ECEHH from the University of Miami where she was a professor in both the medical and marine schools, with particular interests in environmental and occupational health and epidemiology.

She has also held senior roles in the Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; the Department of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Miller School of Medicine; the University of Miami Oceans and Human Health Center; and the Florida Cancer Data System,.

ECEHH is an initiative of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry – a joint venture of the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth in the UK and the NHS in the South West of England – with investment from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence Programme.

ECEHH develops international research to investigate the complex and interactive relationships between the environment and human health. The research takes place within Cornwall from the expanded Knowledge Spa at Treliske and in laboratory-based facilities co-located with the University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute, which will be built at Tremough, with collaborations with other research institutions around the world.

The ECEHH focuses on three key themes: the first investigates the effects of chemicals in the environment on human health, including pharmaceuticals and nanomaterials.

The second is climate, oceans and human health. Although the ECEHH looks at climate, oceans and human health globally, it also works on threats in a broader context and of special significance to the coastal communities of Cornwall. These include climate change, the acidification of the oceans and the threat caused by the invasion of species from other regions, such as jellyfish and toxic algae.

The third is clinical photo-biology, and is a continuation and expansion of research already taking place in Cornwall. Research in this area investigates the affects of UV on the skin, and how UVA and pollutants (such as radon and arsenic) interact and influence health.

Fleming said: ‘Our work will help to anticipate and prevent problems, mitigate problems where they do occur, discover new opportunities for businesses, county government and NGOs, and investigate ways in which we can interact with the environment in a positive way.’

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