Interdisciplinary Research Projects

Interdisciplinary Research Projects

This searchable database contains details of pump-primed cross-discipline research projects taking place at the University of Aberdeen.

One of the main strands of our Aberdeen 2040 plan is to address urgent and wide-ranging challenges in the interdisciplinary areas of Energy Transition, Social Inclusion and Cultural Diversity, Environment and Biodiversity, Data and Artificial Intelligence, and Health, Nutrition and Wellbeing.

The wide range of projects on display here is a demonstration of some of the early-stage research being funded in these critical areas as well as the University's commitment to addressing the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all."

Projects undertaken in 2021 were funded by the University of Aberdeen's Scottish Funding Council allocation.

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Identifying Molecular Targets of Thalidomide in Endothelial Cells

Thalidomide is notorious as the drug which caused extensive birth defects in the 1960s. However, if its molecular target in the endothelial cell can be identified, it could provide the basis for effective targeted cancer medicines.

The Spirit of Fascism in the Arts and the Prospects for Cultural Democracy (Testing a Randomised Jury Model)

This project examines the threat of fascism within rather than against democracy. Using a jury-led commissioning process, we will collect data for a collaborative ethnography, the outcomes of which will be at the centre of a multi-media multi-site exhibition entitled Domination, Courtship and Belonging: The Spirit of Fascism in the Arts.

Causes and consequences of microbiome variation for behaviour across dietary regimes in a model insect: implications for pest control and disease transmission

Microbiomes, the microbial communities that live within animals, play an important role in affecting individual-level variation in health, behaviour and reproduction. This project combines high-throughput DNA sequencing with animal personality tests to improve our understanding of the importance of diets in determining the function of the gut microbiome-brain-behaviour axis.

Mass deaths and memorialisation

This project investigates how mass deaths impact on cultural understandings of death as a phenomenon, and on the memorialisation of the dead, with the longer-term aim of developing a network of scholars to support the establishment of a Centre for the study of death at the UoA.

Food proVISION through sustAinable faRming sYstems and value chains (VISIONARY)

VISIONARY wants to make a difference in food system transitions by identifying what factors underlie the path dependencies and ‘lock-ins’ in current unsustainable food systems and showing how these can be overcome.

In their own words: the democracy Tunisians want

Tunisia’s transition to democracy following the Arab Spring is seen by analysts as something of a success story. But how best can we understand what Tunisians themselves want and expect from government? A pioneering new interview technique aims to find out.

Community regeneration and biodiversity within a food activism and sustainability framework

The benefits of food growing and gardens are numerous and considerable. We propose that further work needs to be done to explore how to maximise these benefits for different groups using coordinated approaches that have the potential to address a range of requirements across different sectors and ages.

The Mindfulness Challenge to Western Individualism

Buddhism and mindfulness resonate particularly well with contemporary Western society because they shed light on the struggle between individualism and the human need for community and social interdependence. This project looks to create a series of videos exploring this tension.

Transcriptomic profiling of viral infections in the brain of a key pollinator

Honeybees are the most valuable pollinators of natural and human ecosystems. However, in addition to other factors, the DWV virus is causing serious problems for honeybee colonies. We use advanced techniques to understand how DWV affects honeybee cognition.

Carreño’s Manual de urbanidad, from 1853 to the Age of Covid: Pathways to Research Innovation, Impact and Grant Capture

This project builds on Patience Schell’s ground-breaking interdisciplinary work on Manual Antonio Carreño’s 1853 publishing phenomenon Manual de urbanidad y buenas maneras to create a public, dynamic archive centred on the book.
Interdisciplinary Challenges




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