Geography and Sustainability Sciences (GSS) is an expanding field, one that encompasses a growing arena of research beyond GIS systems. For third-year doctoral student Miah Boyle, it means looking at health through a spatial lens. 

“A person's health isn't just dependent on the disease pathogen,” Boyle explains. “Everything has to align for them to contract the disease. It can be very dependent on various behavioral and ecological factors, such as where they live.”

With a background in microbiology and genetics, locating her research in the field of geography allows Boyle to take a systems approach to health. Boyle’s research centers infectious diseases such as Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial pathogen. 

“I believe this kind of research should be place dependent. An intervention that works for one population at one time and place may not necessarily work for another population in a different context,” Boyle says. 

Specifically, Boyle investigates antibiotic resistance and Staphylococcus aureus. The first step in her research is identifying areas within the US that are experiencing a faster than average increase in antibiotic resistance. Then, Boyle plans to use this data to identify what factors might contribute to this increased risk.

“We’re examining the data at a finer spatial scale, from county to county. Our goal is to get away from over generalization of populations and be a bit more nuanced with our analysis,” Boyle says. 

Boyle advocates for big systems thinking in health to fully understand the context of the pathogen, how it’s contracted, how it’s spread, and how it’s treated. 

“Looking more upstream at broader population-level and ecological drivers of health can have a larger impact on the overall population's health, rather than focusing on just an individual's health,” Boyle notes. 

Using a spatial lens to focus on the collective over the individual can have important effects in health policy. 

“Place-based prevention strategies look at a population's characteristics and tailor treatment and prevention to fit their needs,” Boyle explains. “Overall, I think this approach would be more effective for disease prevention and could save a lot of money and resources in the long run.”

Earth Systems and Political Ecology

While Boyle comes from a systems health approach to Geography and Sustainability Sciences, Sophia Musoki’s research focuses on the political ecology, looking at how humans interact with their environment. 

“Geography and Sustainability Sciences is really bridging the gap between the natural physical processes of the Earth and how we as humans live on the Earth and interact with those processes,” Musoki says. 

Musoki is a second-year graduate student investigating the production of food knowledge within communities of women farmers in Uganda. Her work looks at how this knowledge can impact climate-related challenges.  

Musoki came to this work after a career as a food blogger. “In the process of writing about Ugandan food, I started asking questions,” Musoki explains. “That's how I got into academia because I'm having the same questions, and I'm finding ways to answer those questions.” 

This summer Musoki received a Stanley Award for International Research to pursue fieldwork in Uganda, interviewing women farmers.

“I was able to carry out fieldwork to find out how knowledge has been produced and co-produced historically in the communities that take the biggest share of producing this knowledge and transferring it on from generation to generation,” Musoki shares.

In the process of interviewing these women farmers, Musoki noticed that the interviewees were surprised to have an academic asking them about their perspective.

“I think that these women are used to people coming in and telling them what to do,” Musoki says. “So, my approach of letting them know that they are the informers, that they are the ones who have the knowledge, was sometimes a bit shocking to them.”

Musoki hopes that the data produced from her research can provide information about sustainable farming practices and provide a scaffold for learning from these women who carry a rich legacy of knowledge about food production. 

GSS and Interdisciplinary Research

Both Boyle and Musoki rely on the expert knowledge of collaborators in other fields to elevate their research.

“Embracing what you don't know is great,” Boyle says. “I think that mindset fuels interdisciplinary research.” 

Boyle’s thesis committee highlights this perspective. Alongside her advisor Dr. Maggie Carrel from the GSS Department, her other committee members represent fields of Anthropology, Biostatistics, and one is an infectious disease doctor at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

“This type of interdisciplinary work results in really dynamic research,” Boyle says. “I'm also involved in research teams over at the medical campus where I'm the only geographer.”

Musoki’s work also relies on cross-departmental collaboration. Because her work deals deeply with gender, Musoki often finds herself in the Gender Women’s and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) Department. 

“I'm learning about feminist theory, and how I can use that to the best of my ability to present results honestly from the data that I have,” Musoki says.

Both Musoki and Boyle demonstrate the expansive reach of Geography and Sustainability Sciences and the wide impact that this field can have in ensuring the health and future of our increasingly connected world. 

“Before coming here, I was not aware Geography and Sustainability Sciences was this broad,” Musoki says. “Now, I am considering going for a doctoral degree because I know that it's a discipline that is much more.”