– SHIELD enables us to ask new, very concrete questions about who is most at risk from harmful environmental exposure, when in life the brain is most vulnerable, and what can be done to reduce that risk, says Kristine Beate Walhovd.
Linking brain development to the environment
She is one of two centre leaders who will head the Horizon Europe project SHIELD, which has just been awarded 7 million euros (almost NOK 77 million) by the EU. LCBC will receive 1.28 million euro to coordinate the project. The remainder is to be distributed among all 12 partner universities.
– The core of SHIELD is that we connect geolocation data with the rich data that LCBC and our partners have already collected. This gives us an overview of people’s environments and what they have been exposed to, such as air pollution, noise, access to green spaces and other factors, says Walhovd.
– We can then combine these data with MRI scans of the brain, mental tests, genetic data and biological markers across the entire lifespan, she continues.
Strong track record
Walhovd highlights valuable experience the centre has been able to draw on from the H2020 project Lifebrain, where LCBC also coordinated 12 partner institutions.
– SHIELD builds directly on the infrastructure we developed in Lifebrain – with MRI data and links to cognition and genetics across large European cohorts. The project also continues our strong focus on when in life different factors have an impact.
But the researchers are also looking ahead, and Walhovd is pleased about the new opportunities this coordination project brings.
– We can now bring our research much more clearly into policymaking and practice: from data and models – via interactive tools and app-based solutions – to concrete recommendations for environmental regulation that can protect the brain from pollution and create opportunities for positive brain development, she says, adding:
– The project both strengthens existing collaborations and brings us into new ones with partners from different backgrounds. We are excited to develop new knowledge together.
Reward for hard work
There was huge celebration when the LCBC team received the news that they will lead the Horizon Europe coordination project SHIELD, with a total budget of 7 million euros.
– We started working on the application more than two years ago. When we submitted it, we felt we had done the best we possibly could. That’s why it was fantastic to receive this recognition from the panel, says LCBC’s administrative director, Barbara Bodorkos Friedman.
She will have administrative responsibility for coordinating research on pollution, brain health and brain disorders at 13 universities in 9 European countries, including Norway. She will also be responsible for user involvement and work towards policymaking.
About SHIELD:
SHIELD: Sources of Health Inequalities from Environmental pollution in Lifespan brain Development
SHIELD’s participants are:
- University of Oslo, LCBC: Coordinator
- Umeå University, Sweden
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V., Germany
- University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Poland
- ADHD Europe (AISBL), Belgium
- The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, England
- The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge, England
- Fundación Privada Instituto de Salud Global Barcelona, Spain
- Utrecht University, the Netherlands
- The University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- The European Brain Council (AISBL), Belgium