SCAS is pleased to announce that Valbona Muzaka has been appointed theme lead of the Health & Sustainability – Inequity & Consumption theme of the brand new NNF-IAS Fellowship Programme on Health and Sustainability for early-career researchers.

Valbona Muzaka External link, opens in new window. is Professor of Economic History at Uppsala University and a former Global Horizons Senior Fellow at SCAS (2022-23). “With her research focus on the global governance of public health and the political economy of innovation in the life sciences, [she] brings valuable expertise on the broader dimensions of health and sustainability. Her deep knowledge, interdisciplinary perspective, and innovative approach will make a significant contribution to the programme”, SCAS Principal Christina Garsten says.

The new fellowship programme is a collaboration between SCAS and the seven other Institutes for Advanced Study in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and aims at exploring innovative solutions to challenges within health and sustainability from interdisciplinary perspectives, as well as to strengthen mobility, talent retention and networking in and across the Nordics.

The programme covers four thematic foci, each led by one of the four main partners. SCAS is responsible for the second one, Health & Sustainability – Inequity & Consumption, 2028-2030, and Muzaka will thus be one of the programme’s four theme leads. Tasks include to provide continuity, mentor fellows, coordinate thematic activities, shape interdisciplinary integration, and serve on the selection board for each cohort of fellows.

“Given the fragmentation and specialisation of academic disciplines, I am happy to see a project of this scale being funded with the explicit aim of supporting early career researchers engaging in interdisciplinary research”, Muzaka herself says. “It is precisely what is needed to develop the necessary tools for addressing the constitutive and dynamic coupling of human health and ecosystems’ health in a comprehensive and timely manner. Being the theme lead for the SCAS chapter is as much a privilege as an opportunity to contribute to the success of the project overall.”

Valbona Muzaka will take office on 1 September 2026.

The first call for applications for the NNF-IAS Fellowship programme on Health and Sustainability will launch later in June this year.