Funding agreed for European Centre for the Environment and Human Health

This substantial investment establishes Cornwall as a hub for a major and important international theme in health research, and a novel niche for the emerging knowledge economy of the county.

In the first three years, £3 million of Convergence investment, matched by £3 million of the College’s own funds, will enable the ECEHH to achieve its aim to establish and develop international research to investigate the complex and two-way relationships between the environment and human health. The research will take place within Cornwall from the expanded Knowledge Spa at Treliske and in laboratory-based facilities co-located with the proposed Environment and Sustainability Institute of the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus, with collaborations with other research institutions around the world. The ECEHH concept has been developed as a cornerstone of the third Phase of the Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative, a family of projects, which all seek to boost Cornwall’s economy through serious investment in research and business engagement.

Close links with the local business community are being forged from an early stage. Local businesses will be encouraged to participate in ongoing research, from which commercial opportunities will ultimately flow both during and after the research process – the ECEHH is very much about supporting the health and wealth of Cornwall.

The ECEHH will focus on three key themes within the environment and human health field. The first will investigate 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 will look at climate, oceans and human health globally, it will work 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 will also consider 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 funding allows for the appointment of professors, senior lecturers, lecturers, post-graduate fellows, PhD students, managers and administrators. In the region of 16 new jobs will be created initially.

Professor Janice Kay, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter said: “The effects of the environment on human health, which can be potentially hazardous, but also beneficial if used in the right way, are going to be some of the biggest challenges for the 21st Century. We are really proud that the hub of this fantastic Centre will be based in Cornwall, led by the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry. It is absolutely central to the University of Exeter’s world leading research in the Environment and Sustainability, as part of its £80 million investment in science, technology, engineering and medicine. We very much look forward to the exciting partnership opportunities that the ECEHH will bring”. 

Professor Anthony Pinching, Associate Dean for Cornwall at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, commented: “The establishment of this major European research centre with its hub in Cornwall represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the county to reap the full benefits of its research-active medical and dental college. There could be no more natural place than Cornwall to study the inter-relationships between the environment and health. Moreover, this niche development can, with others in CUC and beyond, help to rebuild Cornwall’s economy so that the county can once again make its full and distinctive contribution, nationally and internationally.”

Professor Michael Depledge, Interim Director of the ECEHH and Chair of the Advisory Board, said: “There is a need for a balanced approach to the science of the environment and human health, and this requirement sits at the centre of the ECEHH. Our research will be truly collaborative, not just in conjunction with our partners at the University of Exeter, University of Plymouth and the regional NHS, but also in partnership with scientists from across the world. The ECEHH, and Cornwall, will become global foci for research and study into the complex interactions between the environment and human health.”

Dr Sue Brownlow, Combined Universities in Cornwall Director, said: “It is a measure of how far we have come that Cornwall is now in a position to take a leading role in research that has major national and international importance. As well as helping to redefine perceptions of Cornwall on the world stage, the ECEHH will generate exciting new commercial opportunities and will ultimately bring new, well-paid jobs to the county.”   

Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, commented: “With our world-class research excellence in areas such as the marine and environmental sciences, we are looking forward to working in partnership to continue the process of knowledge growth and socio-economic transformation in Cornwall. This Centre cements our commitment to the county, where we are already leading in the development of key skills through our extensive network of partner colleges, knowledge translation at the new Pool Innovation Centre and research excellence through PRIMaRE and the Wave Hub project.”

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, added: “On top of contributing to world health issues this research centre will create greater opportunities for our ambitious businesses that wish to trade knowledge and expand globally.

“As a Convergence investment it will focus on achieving the commercial objectives of growing a healthy economy with the pool of research knowledge that will evolve over time.”