About the Project
About the award
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus six Research Organisation partners: British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Met Office, the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/
At least 37 fully-funded studentships that encompass the breadth of earth and environmental sciences are being offered to start in September 2016 across the GW4+ DTP. The studentships will provide funding for a stipend (currently £14,057 per annum for 2015-2016), research costs and UK/EU tuition fees at Research Council UK rates for 42 months (3.5 years) for full-time students (part-time students pro-rata).
Academic Supervisors:
Main supervisor: Doctor Alison Curnow, University of Exeter, Truro Campus, Cornwall
Co-supervisor: Professor Rex Tyrrell , University of Bath
Co-supervisor: Dr Christophe Sarran, Met Office
Project Description:
In the current era of unprecedented global environmental change, understanding the links between the environment and human health/wellbeing has never been more important. We know that solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is both the most prominent and ubiquitous physical carcinogen humans experience in our natural environment and that excessive UV exposure is the main cause of human skin cancer. However sunlight is also essential for life and vision, playing important roles in vitamin D synthesis, human circadian rhythms and mood. An extended lifespan and changes in human behaviour (e.g. increased time indoors) also impacts on exposure and so the health impacts of climate change are potentially both complex as well as contradictory.
Through partnership with the Met Office, the successful studentship applicant will have a unique opportunity to investigate what potential health impacts are likely to be experienced in the UK using the most sophisticated contemporary predictions of climate change in existence. We will combine observed UV, sunshine and stratospheric ozone data with regional climate projections. The sensitivity of health effects from UV will be compared with the precision of predictions of changes in UV levels. Furthermore laboratory experimentation will be undertaken with cultured human cells utilising the facilities/expertise of two internationally respected research teams of the Universities of Bath and Exeter. This will provide some insight into the implications changing weather conditions may have on UV effects at the molecular level but more importantly will also help to identify innate and behavioural defence mechanisms to negate the negative effects of this natural hazard.
Changes in light intensity (another predicted consequence of climate change) could also impact human health dependent on circadian metabolic control, including metabolic syndrome incidence, sleep disturbances and ageing (both the circadian clock and glucose homeostasis are regulated by heme and free heme release/catabolism is strongly modified by UVA radiation). Based on predicted intensity changes we will conduct experiments to understand how these may affect free heme levels and heme catabolism as well as spectral dependence. Estimates of changes in life-course exposure to UV can also be derived from the environmental data and models and will used to validate the proposed defence mechanisms following consideration of how the predicted climate changes may impact on UK residents’ UV exposure and sun/shade seeking behaviour.
This unique interdisciplinary/multi-faceted insight into our future of living with environmental change will therefore make a major contribution to this vitally important contemporary research challenge.
For further information and eligibility criteria please see http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=1906
Funding Notes
This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP). The studentships will provide funding for a stipend (currently £14,057 pa), research costs and UK/EU tuition fees for 3.5 years for full-time students (part-time students pro-rata). Applicants must be classed as UK/EU for tuition fee purposes. Applicants who are classed as International for tuition fee purposes are not eligible for funding. For further details including academic eligibility criteria please see the advert on the University of Exeter website.
References
Cherrie, M.P.C., Wheeler, B.W., White, M.P., Sarran, C.E., and Osborne, N.J., 2015: Coastal climate is associated with elevated solar irradiance and higher 25(OH)D level. Environment International 77 76-84.
Turnock, S.T., Spracklen, D.V., Carslaw, K.S., Mann, G.W., Woodhouse, M.T., Forster, P.M., Haywood, J., Johnson, C.E., Dalvi, M., Bellouin, N., and Sanchez-Lorenzo, A., 2015: Modelled and observed changes in aerosols and surface solar radiation over Europe between 1960 and 2009. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 15 9477-9500.
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