People, Health and Communities Research Group: expertise and projects
Our research aims to transform lives and improve health and wellbeing of people and communities through empirical research, evidence synthesis and knowledge translation.
Research expertise
Our work is concentrated in 4 areas of expertise.
Projects
![Police in full riot gear holding up shields to protect themselves from crowds. There is a giant statue](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-05/police-1170x780.jpg?itok=G9PyDFYV&h=6b6c6ba8)
Research project
Supporting Human Rights Defenders around the world through temporary relocation in Scotland
![Dolfin map](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/dolfin.jpg?itok=28sW3V9J&h=4e8b82a6)
Research project
DOLFIN is a research and know-how platform designed to support and strengthen the activities of the two existing natural resources centres (CEPMLP and Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science) and other departments of the University of Dundee.
![image of water and desert](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/strade-new.jpg?itok=0Y_raz4L&h=1e88445c)
Research project
The Strategic Dialogue on Sustainable Raw Materials for Europe (STRADE) addresses the long-term security and sustainability of the European raw-material supply from European and non-European countries
Research project
School of Business academics Carlo Morelli and Ruth Bickerton are investigating the impact of funeral costs, while a new charity (Funeral Link) has been set up in the city to help families cope in the aftermath of a bereavement
![a busy street with people shopping and people on bikes](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/youth_transitions_picture_1.jpg?itok=L387v1_-&h=44e502a5)
Research project
Funded by DFID, Youth Transitions in Protracted Crisis focuses on young people who are refugees and highlights the challenges and strategies youth employ to create adult lives in difficult environments. The research took place in urban and camp settlements in Uganda and Jordan working with various refugee groups aged 10 -24.
![People selling goods at a railway station in Africa](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/Railways%20vending%20Edited2.jpg?itok=ipCj7ACN)
Research project
'Growing up on the Streets’ worked with hundreds of street children and youth in three African cities, providing insights into their patterns of daily life, struggles, capabilities and coping strategies as they seek to create adult lives to value
![a group of people smiling in front of a helictopter](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/steed_hero_image.jpg?itok=-PPCeliU&h=29234840)
Research project
A programme of work, led by Prof. Mark Cutler, that builds on research started over 20 years ago in logged forests around Danum Valley in Sabah, Malaysia. This includes analysis of the impacts of the 2015 El Niño on leaf reflectance and traits, and the effectiveness of restoration measures on carbon accumulation in forests after logging.
![2 people and a dog sitting outside of a stone house with a wooden door](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-06/sct_picture.jpg?itok=yHSSeV4o&h=c8b9a5f6)
Research project
This research, funded by ESRC-DFID, generated evidence regarding how social cash transfers (SCTs) .
![a person looking at materials using UV light](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/persistance2_crop_project.jpg?itok=v6DEcxQS&h=15c9ad5d)
Research project
We are creating and testing methods to detect how materials are transferred from places to people, or from people to people and how long materials can last in the environment once they have transferred.
![feet walking on a blue sticky mat](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/stickymat2%20spot.jpg?itok=YG5sM1UP)
Research project
We have a citizen science approach to developing activities that generate data on the background abundance of materials for use in forensic science research and interpretation.
![Two forensic scientists in lab equipment smiling as they view a computer screen.](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2023-02/leverhume-flem-1022-185.jpg?itok=wFZ8nrX9&h=4281b06d)
Research project
We are developing high quality training and online learning resources for students and forensic science professionals.
![a drawing of a human hand](/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/h-unique.png?h=19d031e2&itok=CLP9Alh_)
Citizen science
H-unique is a five year, €2.5m programme of research that will be the first multimodal automated interrogation of visible hand anatomy, through analysis and interpretation of human variation via images
![a group of school pupils standing around table getting a lesson in anatomy](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/t4_5217518473618685040.jpg?itok=Y3JeKBpF&h=f1354522)
Citizen science
We are offering the opportunity for schools and pupils to get involved with leading forensic science research. The activities are suitable for secondary school age groups (S1-S6) and bring research to life in the classroom
![House made out of greeny grey zinc](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/zinc-house-1170x750.jpg?itok=cxjxieGZ&h=977229cc)
Public engagement project
Zinc House is one of a number of architectural projects guided by ‘Place, Programme & Presence’ as a critical framework for the realisation of new buildings exploring the serial development of types.
Research project
The study, funded by ClimateXChange for Scottish Government was carried out by academics in Architecture and Planning to assess the effectiveness of greenhouse gas emission reduction policies in Local Development Plans in promoting the uptake of low and zero-carbon generating technologies.
![Map showing Freudenstadt](http://cdn-acquia.dundee.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/card/public/2020-07/the-city-is-a-thinking-machine-l.jpg?itok=K_-eMVov&h=2de0485b)
Public engagement project
The City is a Thinking Machine is a research exhibition bringing together in a single space, Geddes’ collection of city plans with his thinking and lecture notes.