Our Spotlight On series celebrates our academics’ global impact. Professor Claire Horwell is a world-renowned expert on the health hazards of volcanic air pollution.
Claire is a Professor of Geohealth in our Department of Earth Sciences. Her expertise brings together lifelong interests in geology, the environment and public health.
After gaining a degree in Environmental Sciences and a Diploma in Volcanology, Claire began to focus her research on the respiratory health hazards of volcanic ash.
Claire’s work initially looked at whether volcanic ash is harmful to breathe. However, after engaging with affected communities worldwide, she shifted focus to exploring how communities can protect themselves from inhaling volcanic ash.
This pioneering research into ways to protect against breathing volcanic ash has opened up a new field, proving invaluable not just for volcanic communities but also during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Claire has also undertaken research into the use of respiratory protection to reduce children’s exposure to urban particulate pollution.
Claire’s work draws on the expertise of medics, toxicologists, epidemiologists and exposure scientists. However, early on in her career, she recognised there was no existing network to unite these specialties.
Rising to the challenge, Claire and her former PhD supervisor successfully applied for Leverhulme Trust funding and founded the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN).
Since its inception in 2003, the IVHHN has united practitioners and scientists to provide research-based guidance on health measures during volcanic eruptions.
Through her continued work on the toxicity and health hazards of volcanic emissions, along with the development of the IVHHN, Claire has become a global authority in her field.
Claire sits on the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for (volcanic) Emergencies (SAGE) and collaborates with international organisations including the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
She was invited to be the founding President-Elect (and then President) of the GeoHealth Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Developing a new section of the AGU from scratch and watching it thrive is a highlight of her career.
Having joined Durham University in 2007 as a Natural Environment Research Council and RCUK (now UK Research and Innovation) fellow, Claire went on to become co-director of our Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR).
Her work exemplifies the power of a truly interdisciplinary approach, extending far beyond Earth Sciences to encompass environmental and medical sciences, social sciences, psychology, exposure science, law and public health ethics.
Her involvement with the IHRR has supported this further, giving Claire the opportunity to learn more about disaster risk reduction, humanitarian relief and the social sciences.
Looking ahead, Claire is focused on developing information on children’s protection from air pollution, benefitting both children and their caregivers. She is committed to maximising the impact of these resources for communities in Nepal and Indonesia with which she has collaborated.
Claire also hopes to work with UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the International Society for Respiratory Protection to develop global guidelines for public use of respiratory protection and to establish standards for their production.
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