Dr Eleanor Gershenson-Smith passes PhD viva with thesis examining air pollutants in Greater London

Dr Eleanor Gershenson-Smith has successfully passed her PhD viva at UCL Geography. Her thesis, Reactive Nitrogen in London: From Chemistry to Air Quality to Public Health, explores the impact of nitrogen-based pollution on air quality and health in Greater London.

Talking about her research methods, she says “I use air quality measurements from the Torrington Place roof alongside a state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry model to assess the current understanding of urban atmospheric chemistry. I also use high-resolution satellite observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), census and health data to assess disparities in NO₂ attributable health burdens across the city and evaluate the impact of the Heathrow expansion.” 

Eleanor’s findings highlight the importance of often-overlooked processes in shaping urban air quality. “The surfaces in cities, such as roads, building walls and windows, play a crucial role in the chemistry that determines urban air quality,” she says. “The chemistry happening on city surfaces needs to be incorporated into the models to better inform policy and protect public health.” 

Eleanor also emphasises the unequal impacts of air pollution across London. “In London, ethnic minorities are unequally impacted by NO₂ exposure,” she explains, adding that “the expansion of Heathrow airport will worsen inequalities in NO₂-attributable health impacts.” 

Reflecting on her PhD journey, Eleanor describes a key challenge that became a valuable learning experience: “The hardest part of my PhD was learning how to use the equipment to measure air pollution. Fixing it when it broke was sometimes difficult and took a lot of time.”  

Eleanor has now begun the next stage of her academic career. “I started a post-doc position at the UCL Institute for Health Informatics in January. My new work focusses on the prevalence and health impact of domestic wood burning in the UK,” she says.

Eleanor was lead-supervised by Professor Eloise Marais and funded by Professor Marais’ European Research Council Starting Grant, UpTrop.