Setting research priorities to understand the biological impacts of climate and environmental change on maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition globally

Within climate change, much work has been done around epidemiology and risks; however our understanding of biological and environmental pathways and mechanisms through which climate change affects human health and development remains limited. To shed light on this understanding, a two-day symposium/workshop was held in Toronto in December 2023 consisting of global and regional experts across North and South America. As part of a series of activities to develop a common understanding and consensus around research priorities for climate change and its impact on the health and nutrition of vulnerable groups globally, this workshop entailed a multi-disciplinary consultation to facilitate wider sharing and application of knowledge and insights from evidence, focusing on discovery, innovation and epidemiology to foster a different set of priority questions. Plenary discussions and group work focused on 1) environment and air quality; 2) agriculture, food systems and nutrition; 3) emerging science – epigenetics, microbiome and other “omics”; and 4) the role of big data analytics, remote sensing and artificial intelligence in climate research. Groups were asked to discuss four key cross-cutting questions pertaining to their assigned area of focus and generate a list of key prioritized questions or themes. Based on the outcomes of this workshop and a previous one held in Dubai, UAE, a set of priority areas were identified and categorized by climate hazards (e.g., extreme temperatures, weather events, air pollution), vulnerable populations (e.g., women, children), and health outcomes (e.g., mental health, neurodevelopment, nutrition, new/emerging infectious diseases). As part of a series of workshops, results of these collective workshop outputs will include a comprehensive list of priority research questions, and a collaborative scientific report for publication, while also feeding into other similar and more global initiatives.