GeoCAFÉ: An NSF Research Coordination Network (RCN) to Accelerate Research on Climate Change and Health
Funded by the National Science Foundation
Announcement of GeoCAFE Scholars 2024 Cohort
Learn more about the NSF funded C2H2 Research Coordination Networks!
With funding from the National Science Foundation, we are pleased to announce the launch of GeoCAFÉ, a new Research Coordination Network (RCN) that brings together university faculty from non-medical related geoscience departments and medical and public health professionals.
GeoCAFÉ seeks to accelerate the pace of research and translation in the field of climate change impacts on health by fostering greater collaboration between those who understand and focus on studying the environment from where the triggers of many climate-related health issues arise and experts who study the impact and treatment of health conditions driven by those triggers.
GeoCAFÉ will build on the foundations and existing infrastructure of the NIH-funded CAFÉ Research Coordinating Center (CAFÉ RCC).
Objectives of GeoCAFÉ
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GeoCAFÉ aims to recruit university doctoral students and faculty from the geosciences to the growing community of climate and health research, thereby increasing disciplinary and institutional diversity within this community.
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GeoCAFÉ seeks to enhance dialogue and mutual understanding between experts across the geosciences and those in the health sciences. This will be achieved by supporting geoscientists to interact and attend and participate in conferences focused on public health and vice versa, fostering mutual understanding and a cross-pollination of ideas and expertise.
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By fostering meaningful collaboration across the disciplines, GeoCAFÉ will accelerate the pace of research and innovation, improve treatments and health mitigations, provide a systems understanding of climate-driven health issues, and increase the translation of new solutions to the impacts of climate on human health.
Planned Activities of the GeoCAFÉ RCN
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We will adapt and expand the virtual offerings already provided by CAFÉ to be inclusive of and attractive to both the geosciences and health community of experts.
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Each year, GeoCAFÉ will create new interdisciplinary cohorts of geoscientists and health researchers. Cohort membership will be approximately evenly split between the two groups and focus on PhD students, post-doctoral scholars , and early career faculty. Members will participate in quarterly virtual events and up to two in-person gatherings per year at existing scientific or professional conferences. For instance, health scientists may elect to attend geoscience conferences such as the annual meetings of AMS or AGU, and geoscientists may do the same with health conferences such as the annual meetings of ISEE or ATS. These virtual and in-person interactions will foster personal connections, promote interdisciplinary dialogue and understanding, and facilitate new research collaborations.
Funded by the National Science Foundation
