Duke University has named the latest recipients of its Climate and Health Big Idea Grants, a program aimed at accelerating research into the growing health impacts of climate change. Julia Oh, PhD, and John Rawls, PhD, received a grant to study the impact of heat on the human microbiome.
Oh is a professor in dermatology, integrative immunobiology, and molecular genetics and microbiology, and Rawls is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.
The program is supported by The Duke Endowment and the Climate and Health Research Initiative Innovation Fund, which is made possible through the generous support of Duke School of Medicine Board of Visitors member John Cavalier.
About the Project
The project team will investigate how heat exposure influences human health by disrupting our microbiome. By integrating human studies with animal models, the team will define how heat reshapes microbiome composition and activity and how those changes affect host–microbe relationships.
The work addresses fundamental gaps in understanding the biological pathways linking heat exposure to downstream health outcomes.
This multidisciplinary team brings together expertise from Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Dermatology, and the Nicholas School of the Environment, drawing on strengths of the Duke Microbiome Center and the Environmental Exposure and Kidney Health Working Group across the School of Medicine, Pratt School of Engineering, and Nicholas School.
Read more about the grant program and the other funded Duke University projects