Hub users showed up this month with thoughtful reads and rich discussion. Thank you for sharing! Here are some highlights.
Hub User Spotlight
Our April spotlight features Deji Olatoye (also known as Deji Toye), a partner at The Lodt Law Office in Lagos, Nigeria. Alongside his work as an enterprise lawyer, he pursues independent scholarship focused on cultural policy, critical approaches to intellectual property and sui generis rights, as well as ecocritical theory and environmental humanities.
What are your interests? I am interested in the intersection of creativity—particularly imaginative works—and emerging holistic, planetary approaches to health. My interests also lie in environmental humanities and emerging heterodox fields that address global challenges with practical, solutions-driven inquiry. I am especially focused on how ecocritical theory can contribute to planetary health.
What are you working on that most excites you? I am currently researching and writing a book exploring the potentially revitalizing perspectives that the ecological poetry and thought of the Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare could bring to ecocritical theory. An aspect of this will explore some approaches in planetary health through a cultural and civilizational lens, drawing connections between Osundare’s critique of colonial distortion of Indigenous food systems and land use and planetary health’s current investigations into the dysbiotic impacts of modern food systems and land use and land cover changes.
What do you welcome Hub users to connect with you about? I look forward to connecting with planetary health scholars investigating food systems, land use, socioeconomic determinants of health outcomes, and interested in exploring works of imagination, as well as postcolonial theory.
In Discussions
- A lighthearted post about the University of Leeds transcribing a 16th-century pamphlet on cheese.
- An essay exploring how a recent off-Broadway production of The Swamp Dwellers can inspire more African writers’ interest in connecting ecocriticism and planetary health.
- “To work from our heart, we shall connect to our heart every day”: reflection from a user about how she is putting her well-being first.
- Post-Campfire thoughts on panelists’ research and transformative justice.
- An approach to making disagreements less personal, particularly within political themes.
…and many more in the Discussions page!
In Groups
- Nova4Nutrition: An invitation for submissions to a special issue of the Journal of Eating Disorders about food addiction and eating disorders; a new paper about food addiction recovery.
- Mentoring Research Network (MRN): Recordings from the 3rd Annual Ecohealth Global Summit and the webinar “Heritage and Innovation: Harnessing Traditional Chinese Medicine to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance”
- Microbes and Social Equity: Registration for the 2025 MSE Summit: Pathways to Microbiome Stewardship is now open!
- Nova Reads: Systems Thinking for Social Change, interest in starting a regenerative economics Hub group, and more.
- Nova4Nature: On the heels of Earth Day, a spotlight of a digital platform that combines interactive maps, globes, and storytelling to better understand Earth’s complex systems and inspire planetary stewardship.
…check out all the Groups (or create your own)!
In Events
- May 16:
- Register for our next Coffee and Conversations, and be on the lookout for May’s topic.
- Mismatch: Human Origins and Modern Disease
See more events and submit your own on our Community Calendar!
Hub Features & User Tips
- Coming soon: Remember when we said the Nova Integration Hub app was coming soon? It really is! We are excited to make it easier to engage while on the go. Stay tuned!
- Tip for engagement: Tap into the great minds here on the Hub! Post your requests for information, research help, articles, etc., in a relevant group or discussion topic, or directly to your profile as a status update.
- Invite friends to join the Hub! Click on your profile photo, navigate down to “Email Invites,” and click “Send Invites.” Customize a message or just send the link – it’s easy!
- Just getting started on the Hub? Check out the Hub User Guide to watch a video or get step-by-step instructions.
Thank you again for being part of our community. We’d love to hear from you! Let us know how you like using the Hub, share your ideas and suggestions, or just say hello! Message Airynn Strout or Tolu Adewole on the Hub or email us at airynn@novainstituteforhealth.org or tolu@novainstituteforhealth.org.
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