Collaborative Health and Climate Workshop

^{7 February 2024 | Monash University, Melbourne}

In February, a collaborative workshop provided an opportunity for 50+ researchers from Monash University and CSIRO to meet, connect and discuss their expertise and ideas for future collaborations in health and climate.

The Health and Climate Initiative brought together an enthusiastic and diverse group of early and mid-career health and climate researchers from across Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences as well as colleagues from CSIRO’s Human Health and Environment portfolios. Together they explored pertinent questions around reducing climate change’s impacts on human and planetary health and minimising negative environmental impacts of healthcare delivery.

The diversity of expertise in the room enabled participants to view familiar problems with fresh eyes, especially around the focus areas of: (1) Heat, (2) Resilient, prepared and low-carbon healthcare systems, and (3) Climate change impacts on pathogens, microbes and changing disease patterns.

The workshop was initiated by Monash’s Dr Michael Loftus and Dr Sean Docking with the aim of providing a space for early and mid-career researchers interested in health and climate to connect across disciplines and to explore how they can work together.

“The workshop was a great opportunity to hear different perspectives on tackling the complex health and climate challenges, to connect to new colleagues who may become potential collaborators or open doors to engage with different research units, healthcare providers, or government bodies”, says Dr Michael Loftus, who is an academic infectious diseases physician at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University.

“It was refreshing to be in a room of like-minded people who understood the importance of collaborating to address the impact of climate change on human and planetary health, as well as how we can reduce the impact of healthcare delivery on planetary wellbeing’, says A/Prof Zerina Tomkins, a transdisciplinary researcher who is a registered nurse, health informatician, and scientist.

“We are working together to develop and evaluate evidence-informed solutions for mitigating and adapting to the impacts that climate change has on human health and health systems. I thank Prof Brett Sutton and his colleagues from CSIRO for participating in this workshop. The first discrete project collaboration ideas have already emerged following the workshop, and we are excited to help create new possibilities towards sustainable solutions”, says Prof Karin Leder who leads the Health and Climate Initiative at Monash University.