UAB

In the quest to better understand local climate change impacts on physical, biological, and socioeconomic systems and how such impacts are locally perceived, scientists are challenged by the scarcity of grounded data, which has resulted in a call for exploring new data sources. People with a long history of interaction with the environment have developed complex knowledge systems that allow them to detect local impacts of climatic variability, but these insights are absent in climate change research and policy fora. I will bring insights from local knowledge to climate research by 1) providing data on local climate change impacts on physical (e.g., shrinking glaciers) and biological systems (e.g., phenological changes) and on perceptions of climate change impacts on socioeconomic systems (e.g., crop failure due to rainfall patterns change) and 2) testing hypotheses on the global spatial, socioeconomic and demographic distribution of local climate change impacts indicators. Research will last five years. The first 18 months, Preparation, I will train a team who will develop and implement a data collection protocol and design a web-based platform where citizens can enter information on local climate change impacts indicators. During the following two years, Data collection, we will train 40 external PhD students to collect project’s data in data-deficient regions and disseminate the platform. During the last 18 months, Analysis, the core team will use spatial matching and multivariate analysis to test hypotheses related to the spatial, socioeconomic, and demographic distribution of local climate change impacts indicators. External PhD students will analyse local data. Dissemination will be transversal to the project. This project will fill theoretical and spatial gaps on climate change impacts research. It will also improve local capacity to respond to climate change impacts and help bridge epistemological differences between local and scientific knowledge systems.

Despite the initial high expectations of genome variation studies, only a small proportion of the genetic risk of common and complex diseases has been identified so far. Most of the work has focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number variants (CNVs). Inversions, on the other hand, are a type of structural variant that affects a large fraction of the human genome and is implicated in phenotypic differences in diverse organisms. However, they have been poorly studied because their specific characteristics make their detection especially challenging and how much they contribute to human diseases is not yet well known. As part of the INVFEST ERC Starting Grant, we have developed a novel high-throughput technique for genotyping multiple human inversions in hundreds of individuals, which opens new opportunities in the characterization of inversion functional effects and their association with diseases. The aim of the IN2DIAG project is to increase the value of this technology as an innovative diagnostic kit for human inversions that could be licensed to an industrial partner for its commercialization. To achieve that, the main goals are: (1) Carry out a proof of principle study of the association of inversions and 10 common diseases and other health-relevant traits to demonstrate the potential applicability of the technology; (2) Extend the current market research of inversion genotyping needs in a clinical setting and strengthen the contacts with potential licensees and end-user companies; and (3) Maintain the current IPR strategy and if necessary expand this protection with additional patents of possible new discoveries. Our project therefore involves a combined approach, strengthening both the scientific and commercial aspects of the technology, to bring to the market a new tool for the analysis of previously unknown genetic variants, helping to fulfill precision medicine promises.

The fellowship aims at establishing the applicant an expert in the study of environmental conflicts through training in the interdisciplinary fields of political ecology and environmental history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). Training will consist in courses on environmental history at the Centre for Culture, History & Environment and research under the guidance of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Director Prof Paul Robbins. The research project will mobilise political ecology theory on environmental subjects and environmental history research methods to investigate the understudied phenomenon of acceptance of environmental harm occurring in the course of environmental conflicts. This will be examined through a case study of a conflict over silica sand mining – an activity necessary to obtain sand for use in the controversial process of shale gas extraction (fracking) – in Wisconsin, the larger silica producer in the US. The project will advance theory and analysis of ecological distribution conflicts. The fellow will benefit from interactions with UW’s Geography department political ecology experts and complementary skills training in science communication via digital media technologies (podcasts) and radio. The fellow will expand his network and expertise by attending specialised seminars and benefit from UW’s world-class library facilities. Project findings will be integrated in European research networks working on environmental conflicts, ecological economics and political ecology and contribute to making the European Research Area a centre of excellence in those fields. Knowledge from the outgoing period will be reintegrated in the Institute of Environmental Science & Technology of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona through postgraduate teaching and supervision, and by establishing a distinctive line of research on subjects and environmental conflict. Long-term collaboration between host institutions is envisaged through the project