Authored by Prof Gesche Huebner

To mark our 15-year anniversary, this blog series has looked back to the beginning of the European Centre for Environment & Human Health, offering a glimpse into how we operate on a day-to-day basis (see our passion for puzzles!), reflecting on the impacts of the pandemic, our move from Truro to Penryn, and shared key research, teaching, and impact achievements.

I’ve only been part of the Centre’s wonderful journey for a little over two years, yet I feel incredibly proud of all that we have achieved. But what comes next?

2026 has been a difficult year. Higher education is in dire financial conditions, with job losses announced across several institutions, including the University of Exeter, leaving many of us wondering what universities will look like in another 15 years.

This year has also driven home the realisation that climate change is happening here and now – with drastic consequences for human health, wildlife and nature. The UK has seen unprecedented heatwaves, half of England is officially in drought conditions, and we have had wildfires in Wales, England, and Scotland as well as in many European countries, too.

And so, the relationship between the environment and human health will remain one of the most pressing issues we face and interdisciplinary, impact-orientated research centres like the European Centre will be key to helping navigate the challenges ahead.

Whilst applying a systems-perspective to these issues – another of the Centre’s strengths – will be crucial to moving beyond simple directional analyses, there are three key areas that I think will also become increasingly important.

The first, which has received little attention in the UK so far but could become vitally important in the next few decades, is climate migration. People will be forced to move because of flooding, and many will relocate to escape heat in big cities, creating public health challenges, before, during, and after displacement.

Secondly, food security is likely to rise up the agenda – particularly how we build food systems that are resilient to multiple simultaneous shocks – together with water security.

And a third area I think will become a core research topic relates to nature as critical infrastructure. We are increasingly recognising that natural settings deliver essential ecosystem services, such as clean air, fresh water, and flood protection, that are as crucial to a nation’s prosperity and resilience as the functions provided by built infrastructure. But their exact implementation will raise important questions: how do we design ‘natural infrastructure’ in ways that are equitable and healthy whilst maximising its potential to provide ecosystem services?

And perhaps new progress in artificial intelligence, computational power, and increased data availability, will lead to advances in understanding the human exposome: all the environmental, lifestyle, and social factors that a person experiences from birth onwards. I think this could lead to greater personalized care and much more tailored adaptation actions.

Only time will tell if I’m right but one thing is for sure, the plurality of disciplines, methods, and opinions at the European Centre for Environment & Human Health, along with our fierce defence of the right to disagree and the freedom to go down various rabbit holes, will mean our diverse team will be well placed to find the nuggets of academic gold in a river of stones.

Here’s to the next 15 years of research and discovery.