Dr Bianca van Bavel

Profile

I am a postdoctoral research fellow in climate change and health with the Priestley International Centre for Climate and the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.

I was awarded a research fellowship through the Economic and Social Research Council funded Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN), which is focused on bringing together members of the research community with decision-makers in the public, private, and third sectors. My fellowship involves collaborating directly with NHS Foundation Trusts within Integrated Care Systems across Yorkshire in the evaluation of climate adaptation progress and planning.

I was previously awarded a Priestley Innovation Fellowship to collaborate with the Met Office and the Centre for Environmental Modelling And Computation (CEMAC)in the development of an online communication and decision-support tool.

Based on an assessment of available scientific evidence, the (Co)Benefits Portal helps to convey the importance and urgency of early and equitable climate actions by looking at the wider benefits of avoided climate impacts and trade-offs–such as improving health outcomes, ecosystem services, energy security, and reducing poverty. 

I am also leading a systematic scoping review to map the intersections of climate change and antimicrobial resistance.

Research interests

My research is motivated by how we hone methodological capacities and use existing evidence to support effective and equitable climate actions. Inspired by this motivation, my work has partnered directly with government health services, community-based organisations, and NGOs to conduct research in the UK, Ireland, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia. 

Working at the interface of climate change and health means acknowledging the equity and justice implications of responses to climate change and determinants of health. This involves thinking about adaptation as a process and how responses are developed, who they are designed for and by, as well as the context in which they are intended to be implemented will influence the effectiveness of that process. 

My experience conducting place-based research, evidence syntheses, and global assessments has also sparked critical reflection about what is included and excluded as evidence and knowledge, as well as the responsibility and necessity to engage with multiple distinct knowledge systems.

Qualifications

• PhD, Climate Change and Health, Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds
• MSc, Global Health, Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• BSc, Biology (Ecology) / Medical Anthropology, McGill University, Canada