tpienkowski

I am a 3rd year PhD student at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, University of Oxford and the Conservation Science group at the University of Edinburgh. I am interested in understanding how mental illness – historically neglected despite being a leading cause of disability globally – is influenced by people’s social and ecological context. This interest emerged from several years of working in Central America and the Caribbean, seeing how the combined effects of climate change and ecological disruption already affect residents’ well-being. The role of socio-ecological systems in mental illness will become increasingly prominent among those at the sharp end of climate and ecosystem change.

Over the last ten years, I’ve worked in conservation science and practice. Before starting my PhD, I investigated links between land cover and child health in Cambodia at the BioEcon Lab, National University of Singapore. Before this I worked at the Earthworm Foundation, working with companies to improve working conditions in supply chains, and as Head Development Officer at Ya'axché Conservation Trust in Belize.

I completed my MSc in Environmental Policy at the Central European University in Hungary, and my BSc in Environmental Conservation at Bangor University, where I spent one-year implementing bio-economic research in rural Jamaica. You can find out more about my research interests by following me on Twitter @Tom_Pienkowski, or looking at my web-page

February 2020