ABQ Times

A new center at The University of New Mexico has been awarded $3.83 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). This funding is intended to support efforts to enhance climate resilience in New Mexico.

The UNM Climate and Health Allied Network for Geospatial and Environmental Science (CHANGES) Center will operate within the Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands Institute (ARID Institute). The ARID Institute serves as a campus-wide hub aimed at improving climate resilience through connections, partnerships, and opportunities.

"The spirit of resilience in our New Mexican communities drives our efforts," said José Cerrato, UNM Professor and Regents' Lecturer of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He added that "the partnerships of the UNM CHANGES Center housed in the ARID Institute aim for excellence to honor our university and state." Cerrato will serve as Director and Principal Investigator for this initiative.

The primary objective of the UNM CHANGES Center is to identify gaps in healthcare strategies that can help protect vulnerable communities from climate change effects. According to Cerrato, achieving this goal "requires new methods that bring together geographic information, data on health outcomes and patterns in occurrence, epidemiology, and possible medical interventions."

Cerrato expressed excitement about receiving NIH/NINR funding: "This new center will enable access to cutting-edge tools to protect the health of communities in New Mexico experiencing wildfires, droughts, and other climate-related challenges."

Specific aims for the CHANGES Center include synthesizing diverse datasets for geospatial analysis; developing culturally responsive practices for community engagement; establishing a sustainable transdisciplinary Climate Change and Human Health Center.

The interdisciplinary team includes researchers from various departments such as:

- School of Engineering

- College of Nursing

- College of Arts and Sciences

- College of Pharmacy

- School of Medicine

- UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center

- Earth Data Analysis Center

Jennifer Rudgers, Distinguished Professor of Biology at UNM, along with Professor Marcy Litvak co-directs the ARID Institute. The institute's mission is enhancing resilience through inclusive research and education related to climate change impacts on communities worldwide.

Cerrato is also recognized as a Fellow in the Leadership Innovation for Faculty Transformation (LIFT) program established by UNM's Office of Vice President for Research. As part of this program initiated in 2022 which provides mentoring opportunities toward professional development growth among faculty members - he pursued creating what would become today’s funded project known now simply enough – ‘UNMCENTER.’

“We coalesced ARID Institute here so we could build new partnerships alongside local NM-based organizations while simultaneously creating bridges between existing projects previously working independently tackling similar issues surrounding environmental changes,” said Rudgers reflecting upon their accomplishments thus far achieved via collaborative teamwork amongst experts across different fields involved throughout these endeavors ultimately leading towards success seen recently announced multi-million dollar award granted directly benefiting not only them but everyone impacted indirectly too over time!