Authored by Alex Smalley

This year marks the Centre’s 15th anniversary, and we’re launching a special series of blogs to reflect our amazing, twisting, turning journey.

Since our official launch in 2011 – and catalysed by numerous multi-million pound grants since – the Centre’s portfolio of local, national, and international research has rippled around the world.

Released every few weeks, contributors to this series will offer a potted history of these ripples and delve into how, in some cases, they have grown into waves of insight, impact, and action.

Take, for example, the staggering contribution the Centre has made to our understanding of how the natural world can support wellbeing.

Going green

This work was thrust into the limelight in 2012 with a landmark study that was quickly followed by a broad tranche of research that not only continued to make headlines, but cemented the Centre’s researchers as global experts at the forefront of a rapidly expanding field, who were shaping policy at the highest level.

If the 2010s began with green spaces, it ended with ‘blue health’ – an area of research pioneered by Centre academics that in a few short years became so recognised the term not only entered common parlance, but came to embody an approach that captured public attention.

Yet it hasn’t all been about the benefits. Our work on the positive effects of interacting with nature has been counterbalanced by vital research into one of the world’s most critical threats to human health: antimicrobial resistance.

Microbes meet climate

A core thread of our work since the Centre’s early days, our research in this area has taken novel approaches that have in turn launched new careers, to help answer some of the biggest questions in health research.

Embodying our deep transdisciplinary ethos, our second decade began with new research linking these environmental pathogens to climate change, an area that has become central to our ongoing mission to combat antibiotic resistance.

But when it comes to climate, the devil really is in the details, and our multi-faceted approach has also considered how to bring inclusive adaptations into climate policy and practice – on the international stage and with a host of highly impactful partners – as we race towards the UK’s net zero commitments.

Commendation to collaboration

This staggering corpus of research has been recognised by some of the world’s most prestigious bodies, from within academia and from the hallowed corridors of public service.

These accolades are also owed, in no small part, to the incredibly rich array of people we’ve worked with over the last 15 years, a roll call of which would include renowned artists and highly skilled artisans; each offering diverse perspectives that have helped us to launch new ways of engaging with the public, both at scale and closer to home.

There is far too much more to mention in this introduction – we haven’t even touched on our longstanding training programmes for BSc, MSc, and PhD students, our CPD training, innovative international partnerships, collaboration with the World Health Organisation, and emerging focus on food, energy, and equity.

So join us for the forthcoming instalments of this series as we share the milestones, challenges, and successes that have come to define the past 15 years, and which will shape our exciting future ahead.