The University of Cincinnati received a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Cincinnati Center for Climate and Health.
The grant will support research into how climate change impacts human health — the single biggest health threat facing humanity, according to a 2021 World Health Organization report.
Co-director Ardythe Morrow says two of the center’s initial projects focus on extreme heat exposure and the body’s immune responses.
“In Cincinnati, as in many places, the number of days above 90 degrees was fairly rare in the past,” Morrow said. “Now it's happening far more frequently, and it has many potential different health effects, including the ability to sleep well in the evenings.”
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One project will involve firefighters from suburban Cincinnati communities. Researchers will track their health metrics before, during and after fires to determine the stress the heat from fires puts on firefighters’ bodies.
That data will inform another study monitoring the health of elderly people living without air conditioning in three vulnerable Cincinnati neighborhoods.
“We're working with [the] elderly population in households where there isn't any air conditioning and using current technologies, wearables like Fitbit, to be able to monitor heart rate,” Morrow said. “Also, we're getting swabs from them to look at immune readout before, during and after extreme heat.”
Morrow says the research findings could shape how communities adapt to the warming climate.
“Without evidence that there's a problem, who's going to spend resources to solve a problem?” Morrow said. “That's what we're really looking to have: a biological health basis for community action.”
Morrow says the projects might also improve treatment for people with heat-related illnesses.
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Along with research, the center will offer a graduate certificate program in climate change and health, and host public events and lectures. The work will happen on UC's campus in existing buildings.
The center will collaborate with community partners too, including Groundwork Ohio River Valley and Green Umbrella, to develop a better understanding of how local vulnerable communities experience health effects of climate change.
More than 40 UC faculty members will work with the center across a variety of disciplines including medicine, education, design, architecture, art, planning, engineering, business and nursing.
The NIH grant will fund the research for the next three years. UC is one of 21 exploratory research centers across the U.S. funded by the national institutes’ Climate Change and Health Initiative.