Research and writing are well underway for my thesis. This year, the research looks a bit different as it is all taking place online due to the ongoing pandemic. It has been difficult at times to complete MScCCAFS coursework, research and thesis writing online and remotely primarily as I am not able to fully immerse into the program through interactions with professors and classmates, however, much of the world has experienced the same circumstances. Nonetheless, there seems to be a glimmer of promise with the increased availability of the vaccine.
I have always had an interest in medicine and public health during my undergraduate studies and wanted to pursue these topics in my graduate work at NUIG. Climate change, agriculture, and food security have huge impacts on human health and the pandemic has highlighted and increased awareness of this Unfortunately, as scientists continue to predict a change in the climate and the environment, it is expected that threats, like the coronavirus, to public health will grow and persist. Due to this, there is a growing interest to study and examine zoonotic diseases and their relationship with planetary health. This basic idea is how my thesis topic was initiated and I intend to explore the determinants that create planetary boundaries for zoonotic diseases. In later posts, I plan to discuss some relevant topics of my research and anything I find interesting along the way.
Advisors: Professor Charles Spillane and Peter McKeown