SLU Future One Health is strengthening its presence on all our campuses, in order to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations across faculties. Here we present our Campus Coordinators, who in their role work to develop SLU's capacity and potential in the area of One Health, as well as being the contact person for the platform on each Campus.
The hub coordinators are Paul Egan and Aida Bargeus Tobella. Here they get the chance to introduce themselves through three questions and answers. We start off with Aida...
"I am a researcher at the Department of Forest Ecology and Management in Umeå. I hold a MSc in Forest Engineering and another in Soil Science from Universitat de Lleida (Spain) and SLU, respectively, and received my PhD in the field of Soil Science from SLU. Following my PhD, I did a two-year postdoctoral stay at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya.
My primary research interest is in the use of trees to restore degraded lands and enhance ecosystem functions and derived ecosystem services, with a focus on drylands in Sub-Saharan Africa".
"I am currently involved in a couple of research projects and capacity development programs in East Africa, including in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. Among these, there is the interdisciplinary research project Drylands Transform, where we are exploring the interlinkages between land health, livestock-based livelihoods, human health and well-being, and land management and governance to contribute to transformative change and sustainable development of the social-ecological system in the drylands of East Africa".
"I am the Umeå campus coordinator, and one of my roles is to foster and facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations in One Health within SLU and beyond. My main motivation to join the platform was to make it more inclusive and to be able to influence the concept of One Health and how it is perceived within SLU so that we can build more effective collaborations".
"I am a docent/Associate professor and researcher based at the Department of Plant Protection Biology in Alnarp, but since 2021 work predominantly as a research advisor with SLU Global. My tasks there are quite varied and interesting, and include coordination of the Global Challenges University Alliance and serving as SLU’s representative to the Global Food Security Cluster co-chaired by UN FAO and WFP".
"Research wise I come from a plant health background, but these days work more and more on the interdisciplinary front – for instance on pollinator and human health linkages in collaboration with Nepali pediatricians".
"My desire to support more interdisciplinary research at SLU has been the main motivation for me to join the SLU Future One Health platform. And it has been inspiring to witness how SLU researchers – and the university collectively – is expanding competence and visibility in this area. The start of an interdisciplinary journey is often spurred by unexpected contacts, and I enjoy to facilitate such possibilities locally at Alnarp campus during our regular One Health Breakfast Clubs".
Aida Bargues Tobella, Researcher
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SLU
aida.bargues.tobella@slu.se, +46907868346
Paul Egan, Associate Professor/ Researcher
Department of Plant Protection Biology
E-mail: paul.egan@slu.se
Telephone: +46 (0) 40-415162
