News - International Professor Joins ECEHH as Director
The European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) has appointed Professor Lora Fleming as its new Director. Professor Michael Depledge, who has served as Interim Director, will continue in his role as Chair of the Advisory Board.
Professor Fleming is one of the world's leading experts in issues regarding the environment and public health. She joins ECEHH from the University of Miami where she was a professor in both the Medical and Marine Schools, with particular interests in environmental and occupational health and epidemiology.
In addition to her professorship, she also held senior roles in the Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; the Department of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Miller School of Medicine; the University of Miami Oceans and Human Health Center; and the Florida Cancer Data System.
Her research has been widely published both in the US and internationally.
ECEHH is an initiative of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry - a joint venture of the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth and the NHS in the South West of England - with investment from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Convergence Programme.
ECEHH establishes and develops international research to investigate the complex and interactive relationships between the environment and human health. The research takes place within Cornwall from the expanded Knowledge Spa at Treliske and in laboratory-based facilities co-located with the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute which will be built at Tremough, with collaborations with other research institutions around the world.
Local businesses are being encouraged to participate in ongoing research, education and training, from which commercial opportunities will ultimately flow both during and after the research process - the ECEHH is very much about supporting the knowledge economy, health and wealth of Cornwall.
Said Professor Fleming: "I want us to create a more positive message from the environment and its relationship with human health. Our work will help to anticipate and prevent problems from happening, mitigate problems where they do occur, discover new opportunities including for businesses, county government and NGOs, and investigate ways in which we can interact with the environment in a positive way. If we care about and protect the environment more, we in turn will be more cared for and protected by it."
She added: "We have a dynamic, enthusiastic, interesting and interested group of young scientists working in the Centre, all of whom live in Cornwall and are keen to put the county on the map for the work that we do. I am looking forward to developing ECEHH in a true spirit of partnership between our universities, the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, the NHS, local businesses, and the ERDF Convergence Programme. I am also looking forward to internationalising what we are doing here in Cornwall by exporting our research and experience elsewhere in the world."
Mark Overton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Exeter, said: "To have such a high-profile and internationally respected academic at the helm of the ECEHH is very exciting for the project, and for Cornwall itself. The programme of world-class research will have a real impact on the way people live their lives and, together with the work which will be carried out at the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute, will reinforce Cornwall's position as a centre for cutting-edge research which drives an innovative, dynamic economy."
Professor Mary Watkins, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Plymouth, said: "The appointment of Professor Fleming, with her internationally renowned background in the environment and public health, is an exciting one for the ECEHH. Our staff at the University of Plymouth are looking forward to working with her and exploring how our institutions can help deliver tangible benefits for Cornwall across a range of disciplines."
Dr. Sue Brownlow, Combined Universities in Cornwall Director, said: "The Combined Universities in Cornwall are delighted to welcome Professor Lora Fleming to the county. Lora is one of a growing number of high flying academics drawn to Cornwall by the leading research and innovation activities being developed at the universities and colleges as a result of Convergence investment in CUC. We are confident she will make an important contribution to developments in environmental research
and knowledge transfer in Cornwall and beyond."
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said, "This Convergence investment will lead to a range of economic opportunities stemming from global research into our health and interaction with changes in our environment. The appointment of such an outstanding internationally recognised director will increase Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly's profile for its research and business centre."
More information is available by logging on at www.ecehh.org.uk.