Research and efforts to combat schistosomiasis earn geographer David López Carr several high profile awards

What if you could take an ecologically degraded environment that presents a public health problem, and devise a powerful and elegant solution that not only restores its functionality but also reduces its health impacts while addressing food and water access and alleviating poverty? An international team of biologists, social scientists and medical researchers in the U.S. and Senegal did just that, and for their innovation and research, published in the journalNature, has received several prestigious awards.

"It feels gratifying to be recognized for work finding win-win solutions for the environment and people," said UC Santa Barbara geographer David López-Carr, the lead social scientist on the diverse international team. Titled "A planetary health innovation for disease, food and water challenges in Africa," the paper follows the researchers' efforts to reduce the prevalence of schistosomiasis in northeastern Senegal. A parasitic disease second only to malaria in terms of impact, schistosomiasis affects 240 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas, in places without adequate water quality and sanitation. Approximately 700,000 million people are at risk for infection.

Removal of the vegetation associated with a snail that plays host to the blood fluke proved to be highly successful in reducing rates of infection, and not only that - the plant material could then be repurposed as cheap livestock feed and compost.

Read more about the researchhere.

"By turning a public health hazard into a valuable resource, the research demonstrates a scalable solution that benefits both human health and the environment," according to the Ecological Society of America, the nation's largest organization of professional ecologists. ESA awarded the team a2024 Sustainability Science Award, for "scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. According to the ESA, the paper "stands as a prime example of how sustainable practices can significantly improve wealth, health, food and water access simultaneously, embodying the principles of sustainability science and offering a model for global ecological and social challenges."

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.