♻️NEW STUDENT PAPER♻️ "global experiment of pollution's impacts on wildlife and human health"

💡New paper alert💡

TITLE: "The understudied global experiment of pollution’s impacts on wildlife and human health: The ethical imperative for interdisciplinary research". Lead by #AdriftLab PhD candidate Alix de Jersey and co-authored by her fantastic supervisors, medical researchers Jack Rivers-Auty and Graeme Zosky and marine ecologist Jenn Lavers.

ACCESS THE PAPER HERE ➡️https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122459

Let us know if you don't have access (the article is behind a paywall unfortunately), we'll happily send you a PDF (send us an email, or get in touch via ResearchGate)

In this Perspectives (review) article, we discuss the far-reaching, complex and poorly understood threat that pollution poses to human and wildlife health. This paper argues that #InterdisciplinaryResearch is crucial to encapsulate the diversity of these consequences. We highlight how applying advance techniques and expertise adapted in medical research to wildlife exposed to pollutants offers a unique opportunity.

Additionally, we bring to light the challenges impeding the progress of this research including lack of funding. To do this, we obtained data on awarded #funding for medical and biological research from major research councils for the last 20 years. Only 0.5% of available funds were dedicated to pollution focused research. This included human health, mitigation strategies and laboratory equipment. Of this funding, only 0.03% was dedicated to explaining the wildlife experience despite the opportunity for environmentally and biologically relevant models for documenting the consequences of pollution.

In summary, pollution impacts on health is complex issue that would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach. By bridging the gaps between medical and ecological research, we can better safeguard our planets health. #PollutionCrisis #PollutionResearch