Climate Change Resilience: Understanding Brain Body Mechanisms for Coping with Climate Stressors

Origin: The Tang Prize is awarded on a biennial basis, each with a cash reward of NT$40 million. Projects proposed by the laureates also receive a grant of up to NT$10 million. The 2018 grant for Sustainable Development is shared between Dr. Hansen and Pro. Ramanathan.

Project Summary: Professor Ramanthan, recipient of the 2018 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, has decided to devote the grant to two research projects, “Climate Change Resilience: Understanding Brain Body Mechanisms for Coping with Climate Stressors,” and “Bringing Together Science, Policy, and Religion to Combat Climate Change and Create a Sustainable Future.”

In view of the climate stress driven by extreme weathers and related natural disasters, Professor Ramanthan’s first research proposal focuses on 100 families living in climate stressed zones in California, and is intended to document the mental health impact climate change has exerted on this population. In order to develop precise interventions that enhance resilience to climate stressors, we first need an integrated understanding of the brain body mechanisms of climate resilience on a population scale. This project will utilize innovative tools to investigate the brain body mechanisms of climate resilience, with a particular focus on mental health resilience. It is aimed to map the multidimensional objective biomarkers that underline the psychological resilience (and non-resilience) to climate change in 100 climate-impacted families in California. In addition, the data collected will be used to develop a machine learning model that predicts resilience to climate stressors in humans.


Final Report: https://reurl.cc/OVjnjv