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International Professor Joins ECEHH as Director
01.03.11
The European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) has appointed Professor Lora Fleming as its new Director. Professor Michael Depledge, who has served as Interim Director, will continue in his role as Chair of the Advisory Board.
Professor Fleming is one of the world’s leading experts in issues regarding the environment and public health. She 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.
In addition to her professorship, she 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,.
Her research has been widely published both in the US and internationally.
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 and the NHS in the South West of England - with investment from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence Programme.
ECEHH establishes and 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.
Local businesses are being encouraged to participate in ongoing research, education and training, from which commercial opportunities will ultimately flow both during and after the research process – the ECEHH is very much about supporting the knowledge economy, health and wealth of Cornwall.
Said Professor Fleming: “I want us to create a more positive message from the environment and its relationship with human health. Our work will help to anticipate and prevent problems from happening, mitigate problems where they do occur, discover new opportunities including for businesses, county government and NGOs, and investigate ways in which we can interact with the environment in a positive way. If we care about and protect the environment more, we in turn will be more cared for and protected by it.”
She added: “We have a dynamic, enthusiastic, interesting and interested group of young scientists working in the Centre, all of whom live in Cornwall and are keen to put the county on the map for the work that we do. I am looking forward to developing ECEHH in a true spirit of partnership between our universities, the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, the NHS, local businesses, and the ERDF Convergence Programme. I am also looking forward to internationalising what we are doing here in Cornwall by exporting our research and experience elsewhere in the world.”
Mark Overton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Exeter, said: "To have such a high-profile and internationally respected academic at the helm of the ECEHH is very exciting for the project, and for Cornwall itself. The programme of world-class research will have a real impact on the way people live their lives and, together with the work which will be carried out at the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute, will reinforce Cornwall's position as a centre for cutting-edge research which drives an innovative, dynamic economy."
Professor Mary Watkins, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Plymouth, said: “The appointment of Professor Fleming, with her internationally renowned background in the environment and public health, is an exciting one for the ECEHH. Our staff at the University of Plymouth are looking forward to working with her and exploring how our institutions can help deliver tangible benefits for Cornwall across a range of disciplines.”
Dr. Sue Brownlow, Combined Universities in Cornwall Director, said: "The Combined Universities in Cornwall are delighted to welcome Professor Lora Fleming to the county. Lora is one of a growing number of high flying academics drawn to Cornwall by the leading research and innovation activities being developed at the universities and colleges as a result of Convergence investment in CUC. We are confident she will make an important contribution to developments in environmental research and knowledge transfer in Cornwall and beyond."
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said, “This Convergence investment will lead to a range of economic opportunities stemming from global research into our health and interaction with changes in our environment. The appointment of such an outstanding internationally recognised director will increase Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s profile for its research and business centre.”
More information is available by logging on at www.ecehh.org.uk.
Ends
28th February 2011
Notes to Editors
The European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH)
The ECEHH focuses on three key themes within the environment and human health field. The first investigates the effects of chemicals in the environment on human health, including pharmaceuticals and nanomaterials. In some areas, such as nanotechnology, the advance of developments is so rapid that understanding and regulations managing risks often do not keep up. Research carried out at the ECEHH will help address this imbalance.
The second theme is climate, oceans and human health. There is a wide consensus among scientists and economists that climate change poses the greatest single threat to human civilisation. 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. This research also considers the benefits that can be gained to human health through use of the environment. Work in this area is on-going and has already attracted significant interest from businesses and other organisations.
The third theme 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.
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
The Peninsula Medical School is a joint entity of the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the NHS in the South West of England, and a partner of the Combined Universities in Cornwall. The Peninsula Medical School has created for itself an excellent national and international reputation for groundbreaking research in the areas of diabetes and obesity, neurological disease, child development and ageing, clinical education, health and the environment and health technology assessment. The Peninsula Medical School is licensed under the Human Tissue Act to hold ethically acquired human tissue.
The Peninsula Dental School was established in 2006 following a successful bid by the Peninsula Medical School. It is a joint entity of the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth, and the NHS throughout Devon and Cornwall. It is the first new dental school in the UK for 40 years. Its first cohort of students will graduate in July 2011.
Convergence
For further information see: www.convergencecornwall.com
Convergence helpline telephone: 0800 0280120.
In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly the Convergence programmes are made up of European Regional Development Fund (£347 million) and European Social Fund (£153 million) Convergence Programmes will run until 2013 and follow the successful Objective One Programme and prior to that Objective 5b.
The ERDF Programme investment is intended to boost the region’s economy by providing focussed support for business creating better quality, higher paid jobs. This support includes training and access to higher education, strengthening links between academia and business, improved IT infrastructure, additional high quality workspace and specialist support to boost business productivity.
