News

A group of researchers from QMUL's Centre for Complex Systems (CCS, School of Mathematical Sciences) and the Centre for Genomics and Child Health (CGCH, Blizard Institute) have received £25,000 from UKRI Research England (internally administered by QMUL) for an interdisciplinary project on the dynamics of air pollution through the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF). The project is led by Christian Beck (Professor of Applied Mathematics, CCS) and Jonathan Grigg (Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, CGCH) and will expand existing collaborations with partners in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo) and South Africa (Stellenbosch).

According to WHO estimates, outdoor air pollution causes more than 4 million deaths annually worldwide and affects the most vulnerable groups in big cities of low- and middle-income countries most severely. Joining the expertise of mathematical modellers, medical practitioners, and environmental engineers, the project explores the spread of pollutants and their effects on human health. Eventually, the researchers will develop local air pollution forecasts and risk estimates of extreme events to facilitate mitigation strategies.

The project enables an interdisciplinary cross-faculty collaboration between the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at QMUL. Particular emphasis will be on the analysis of the tails of the measured air pollution concentrations, examining both high-pollution and low-pollution events, as well as on the medical consequences of inhaling small carbon particles.