Theme leader: Peter Søgaard Jørgensen.

Focus areas:

Antibiotic resistance

The global community of microorganisms, the global microbiome, is probably the most adaptable live form we see on Earth. It therefore poses special sustainability challenges for human societies, such as antibiotic resistance. A strong focus within the global health theme is to understand new ways of dealing with the challenge of antibiotic resistance and more broadly promoting human wellbeing through stewardship of the global microbiome

Current project: AMResiilence.

Past project: Living with resistance.

Key staff: Peter Søgaard Jørgensen (Project leader), Tiscar Graells (Post doctoral researcher), Isabelle Jean-Charles (Research Assisstant).

Example Papers:

Use antimicrobials wisely

Jørgensen, P. S., Didier, W., S. P. Carroll, R. R. Dunn, S. Harbarth, R. Laxminarayan, S. A. Levin, A. D So, M. Schlüter 2016. Use antimicrobials wisely. Nature 537, 159–161.  

Evidence for Action: A One Health Learning Platform on Interventions to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

Wernli, D., P. Søgaard Jørgensen et al. 2020. Evidence for action: A One Health learning platform on interventions to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Lancet Infectious Diseases 3099(20):1-5.

Biodiversity

How does biodiversity affect human wellbeing and health and at what scales can these contributions be measured? This is the central question of this focus area. We investigate this question by combining research on biodiversity relationships to ecosystem services, earth system processes and human well-being.

Projects: Economics of planetary boundaries.  A FORMAS SDG grant.

Key staff:  Peter Søgaard Jørgensen (Project leader), Satnarian Singh (research assisstant), PhD student (starting August 2021)

Example paper: 

Antibiotic and pesticide resistance and the Anthropocene operating space 

Søgaard Jørgensen. P., A. Aktipis, B. Zachary et al. 2018. Antibiotic and pesticide susceptibility and the Anthropocene operating space. Nature Sustainability 1:632–641.

Emerging pests and pathogens

Emerging pests and pathogens are major societal challenges characterizing the Anthropocene. Human land transformation, land intensification and global connectivity, means that these species are emerging at accelerating rates. In this focus area we are developing a coherent theory for emergence in the Anthropocene and testing it with a ground-breaking new global database.

Key staff:  Peter Søgaard Jørgensen (Project leader), Emmy Wassénius (PhD student).

Example papers: 

Evolution in the Anthropocene: Informing Policy and Governance

Søgaard Jørgensen, P., C. Folke and S. P. Carroll. 2019. Evolution in the Anthropocene: Informing Governance and Policy. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics Volume 50: 23.1–23.20.

Coevolutonary governance of antibiotic and pesticide resistance 

Søgaard Jørgensen, P., C. Folke, P. J. G. Henriksson, K. Malmros, M. Troell, and A. Zorzet. 2020. Coevolutionary Governance of Antibiotic and Pesticide Resistance. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 35(16): 484-494.

Global child health

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups to global environmental change. Here we investigate how biosphere stewardship can help promote global child health amidst global change. We are currently focusing on the links between food systems and child health in a global analysis.

Key staff: Miina Porkka (Post doctoral researcher), Moa Olsson (PhD studen, Stockholm Resilience Centre), Emmy Wassénius (PhD student).

Example paper:

Placing children and adolescents at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals 

Alfvén, T., J. Dahlstrand, D. Humphreys, D. Helldén, S. Hammarstrand, A.-C. Hollander, M. Målqvist, S. Nejat, P. Søgaard Jørgensen, P. Friberg and G. Tomson. 2019. Placing children and adolescents at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals will deliver for current and future generations, Global Health Action 12:1

Pesticide resistance

With more than 11 percent of the global land surface consisting of crop agriculture, global pesticide use is a major factor affect both food systems and human health. This focus area looks at how crop production systems can be managed to avoid unintended outcomes, such as pesticide resistance or poor producer and consumer health.

Example papers:

Governing evolution

Carrière, Y., Z. S. Brown, S. J. Downes, G. Gujar, G. Epstein, C. Omoto, N. P. Storer, D. Mota-Sanchez, P. Søgaard Jørgensen and S. P. Carroll 2019. Governing evolution: A socioecological comparison of resistance management for insecticidal transgenic Bt crops among four countries. Ambio 01167-0

Crop rotation mitigates impacts of corn rootworm resistance to transgenic Bt corn

Carrière, Y., Z. Brown, S. Aglasan, P. Dutilleul, M. Carroll, G. Head, B.E. Tabashnik, P.S. Jørgensen, and S.P. Carroll 2020. Crop rotation mitigates impacts of corn rootworm resistance to transgenic Bt corn.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117(31):18385-18392.

Coevolutonary governance of antibiotic and pesticide resistance 

Søgaard Jørgensen, P., C. Folke, P. J. G. Henriksson, K. Malmros, M. Troell, and A. Zorzet. 2020. Coevolutionary Governance of Antibiotic and Pesticide Resistance. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 35(16): 484-494.

Past project: Living with resistance (SESYNC pursuit)

Risk perspectives

Human health is intimately linked to our living planet. In this research, we study the relationship between global health and the biosphere. Using a complementary approach to the prevailing global health methodologies that emphasize proximal risk factors, we instead focus on complex systems dynamics to uncover the diffuse and indirect ways in which the biosphere determines health outcomes. Cases include both emerging infectious diseases and child health outcomes.

This research focuses on identifying and understanding the diversity of risks and vulnerabilities in the global food production system and avenues for more resilient food systems. Risks and threats to the global food system are diverse, encompassing both local risks such as droughts, fish stock collapses, pest invasions, and livestock disease; and global risks such as antimicrobial resistance, global food homogenization, and cascading food supply shocks. Our research shows that reframing the way we deal with these risks, and making explicit that risk mitigation actions at one level may affect risks at another level, is key for tackling food system risks.

Key staff: Emmy Wassénius (PhD student), Miina Porkka (Post doctoral researcher).

Example paper:

Anatomy and resilience of the global production ecosystem

Nyström, M., J.-B. Jouffray, A. V. Norström, B. Crona, P. Søgaard-Jørgensen, S. R. Carpenter, Ö. Bodin, V. Galaz, and C. Folke. 2019. Anatomy and resilience of the global production ecosystem. Nature 575: 98–108