The UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the US National Academy of Medicine convened a joint policy initiative on environmentally sustainable health research, offering 16 research leaders of the future the opportunity to gain policy experience and to connect with international peers.
Our future research leaders joined us from a range of professional backgrounds, all with an interest in tackling one of the world’s most pressing global health challenges - climate change and health.
Download the 'For people, for planet' report
Health research can and should be made more sustainable, in order to contribute to global development and to environmental and sustainability goals, as well as to serve its fundamental purpose of improving health outcomes for all. Overcoming the tension between health research’s positive health impacts and its negative effects on the environment demands coordinated system-level action. Stakeholders in the health research sector need to identify ways to reduce environmental harm while safeguarding scientific quality and equity.
The report highlights key themes and areas of action for the health research sector:
- Adopt and refine shared metrics, tools and methodologies for all research activities – including digital and AI-driven methods – to ensure transparent, comparable reporting.
- Embed sustainability requirements incrementally in funding, regulatory and publication processes, pairing them with accessible guidance and financial support.
- Invest in people and infrastructure, prioritising training, accreditation schemes and green facilities that can be scaled up across diverse research settings.
- Foster international collaboration and data sharing, recognising that climate change knows no borders and that solutions developed in one context can benefit many.
Read the 'For people, for planet' executive summary
The Academy of Medical Sciences are working with Chris Hanley, (Director, Grand Challenge on Climate Change and Human Health) and Gregg Margolis (Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs) at the National Academy of Medicine to deliver this project.
This project is funded by the International Strategic Partnership Fund (ISPF).
Our participants join us from a range of professional backgrounds and sectors, including academia, industry, health services and public health.
Read our participants' full bios
Julia Wilson (Co-chair), Associate Director and Deputy Chair of the Sanger Institute Leadership Team
Dr Ying Ying Goh (Co-chair), Director and Health Officer of the City of Pasadena Public Health Department
Dr Deepa Jayakody Arachillage, Honorary Senior Lecturer and MRC CARP Fellow at Imperial College London
Dr Peter Bannister, Managing Director at Romilly Life Sciences
Dr Amy Booth, Medical Practitioner and DPhil Candidate at the IRIHS Research Group, University of Oxford
Dr Claire Bourke, Senior Lecturer in Immunobiology at the University of Glasgow
Dr Alice Bowen, Royal Society/EPSRC Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow at the University of Manchester
Dr Kai Cheong, Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor in Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Dr Yutong Cai, Lecturer in Environmental Epidemiology at the University of Leicester
Dr Ehsan Hoque, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester
Dr Jerreed Ivanich, Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Public Health
Dr Ruth Payne, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sheffield
Dr Jenny Rivers, Director of Research and Development, Barts Health NHS Trust
Dr Chinmoy Sarkar, Associate Professor at the Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong
Dr Allison Squires, Professor and the Director of the Global Consortium of Nursing and Midwifery Studies (GCNMS) at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing
Professor Tony Yang, Associate Dean at George Washington University
Academy NAM exploring climate change and health report
