University Of Alaska Anchorage: Gulf Research Of The National Academies Awards Hahn $76K Grant

Press release from the University of Alaska Anchorage:

July 26, 2021

 Micah Hahn, assistant professor of environmental health in UAA’s Institute for Circumpolar
Health Studies, was recently one of seven recipients awarded a $76,000 Early-Career
Research Fellowship from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies. 

The seven fellows were selected for the Human and Community Resiliency Track, one
of three new tracks GRP launched earlier this year. They will spend the next two years
pursuing research contributing to advancing health equity and examining the social
determinants of health in the Gulf States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida,
Texas and Alaska. 

According to GRP, for decades, the Gulf States have faced monumental challenges from
climate disasters like hurricanes and floods, which have directly affected the health
and well-being of people in those communities. GRP research has shown that there tends
to be a higher prevalence of chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease
and asthma in Gulf State communities. Also, environmental contamination due to human-caused
events like the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and offshore accidents tends to increase.
According to GRP, low-income families and communities of color tend to be disproportionately
affected by these human-led environmental disasters.

For Hahn, the GRP grant is right up her alley, with recent projects like the Southcentral Wildfire Study, examining the mental health impacts of wildfire season in Alaska, or collaborating
with the Municipality of Anchorage on the city’s Climate Action Plan. In addition
to researching health impacts, Hahn has also investigated the possible detrimental
effects on the state’s moose population of ticks migrating further north. 

Hahn said she is excited to join her fellow Gulf State researchers and belong to the
2021 GRP Cohort. According to Hahn, in the world of research, GRP’s grant is unique.
Typically, when applying for grant funding, researchers pitch grantors their specific
projects when applying for funds. The grant money they receive is designated only
for their particular project. With GRP’s funding, fellows are allowed to allocate
their funding however they see fit, which means Hahn could fund multiple projects.  

“This type of grant is awesome because it’s really hard to get that kind of funding,”
said Hahn. She has a few ideas of what projects she’d like to appropriate her funds
to but has not entirely decided yet.

She said she’s continuing her wildfire research in Alaska and, this time, is focusing
on how birth outcomes are affected. She said she has applied for a grant to conduct
this research,but the GRP funding would allow her to expand her research and perhaps
even bring staff onto the project.

Hahn has also been working with a group of representatives from municipalities across
Alaska interested in doing climate work in their communities. She has helped facilitate
group meetings and noted that the GRP grant money could help formalize this group,
pay for her services and hire additional staff to continue the work.

Since the GRP’s grants do not require fellows to use their funds toward a specific
project, fellows have the opportunity to explore many research pathways related to
climate impacts in the Gulf States. Hahn said she is honored to be a member of this
year’s cohort and is excited to pursue her own projects and learn about what research
her colleagues are conducting in the Lower 48.

This press release was produced by the University of Alaska Anchorage. The views expressed here are the author’s own.