In 2019, the board decided to introduce a new type of support for younger researchers who already have a permanent job at the faculty. The intention is to support three researchers with 50% funding for their own salary annually for a period of three years. The examination of the applications has been based on the cutting edge expertise of the research; great emphasis is also placed on the applicant's independence and the conditions for forming his or her own research group.
Merits that are counted include, for example, a docent course, supervision of doctoral students, research grants as a main applicant, and activities in teaching or administration at faculty and / or departmental level.
Giedre, what does the financing mean to you?
- Now I can focus even more on my research and continue to develop my own research niche.
Giedre Gefenaite's research interests are population-based epidemiological studies concerning environmental aspects and aging, but also in infectious diseases.
Both indoor and outdoor environments
The overall purpose of the research is to contribute to the understanding of how indoor and outdoor environments can promote health and well-being during aging.
- I focus on how the living environment affects active and healthy aging, but also on whether and how one's health affects the housing situation and how one looks at moving to other types of housing.
This is what Giedre Gefenaite is studying in the RELOC-AGE project. She is also active in a large project focusing on how the outdoor environment promotes health and counteracts socio-economic differences (OLE).
In addition, she is the research leader for the LivE-COVID-19 project, where she studies how different environments can mitigate the consequences of long-term social isolation, as during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Collaborates with The Faculty of Engineering
- Last but not least, I am also involved in an Egress project together with researchers at The Faculty of Engineering, where we explore how public buildings can be safer for people with disabilities when it comes to evacuations in connection with, for example, fires, says Giedre Gefenaite .