Duke University and Duke-NUS Medical School are proud to announce the recipients of their latest Research Collaboration Pilot Project grants, totaling more than S$1 million. These grants underscore the synergy between the institutions and their shared commitment to addressing the urgent challenges posed by global warming and climate change on human health.
For the first time in its 18-year history, this year’s grant initiative is dedicated entirely to climate-related health research, emphasizing the partnership’s focus on making meaningful contributions to this critical global issue. Each of the five innovative projects brings together top researchers from Duke and Duke-NUS, reflecting a strategic alignment that leverages unique strengths from both institutions, with the objective of developing international research teams that will advance basic, translational and clinical research.
For each project, the Duke Principal Investigator (PI) will receive US$100,000 and the Duke-NUS PI will receive S$100,000 for a period of two years.
One of the newly-announced partnerships is a collaboration between DUPRI Scholar Hanzhang Xu and Rahul Malhotra, Associate Professor of Health Services and Systems Research (HSSR) and Deputy Director and Head of Research at the Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) at the Duke-NUS Medical School.
TITLE: Perception and lived experience of health effects of climate change among vulnerable older adults residing in Durham and Singapore – informing health communication interventions
PIs: Hanzhang Xu (Duke PI), Rahul Malhotra (Duke-NUS PI)
SUMMARY: Climate change, manifested through extreme weather events, temperature fluctuations and rising sea levels, poses significant health risks for older adults, aged 60 years and older. Additionally, vulnerable older adults – those with low socio-economic status, those living alone and those with multiple chronic conditions – face increased climate change-related health risks given their limited access to information and resources, existing physiological decline and potential disruptions to their healthcare and social support. Study findings will inform targeted health communication interventions aimed at enhancing climate change resilience among vulnerable older adults, and influence healthcare policies on ageing and climate change in Durham and Singapore.