Researcher: Assoc. Prof. Marco Helbich, PhD

Dr. Helbich has a background in geographic information science and human geography, focusing on health and transport geography. His prime research interest is understanding how urban areas influence human health. He aspires to decode the external exposome and realize healthy cities through understanding how the environment shapes people’s mental health. Specifically, his aim is to 1) make theoretical contributions to human–environment interactions where people's daily mobility and their residential life-course are central, 2) develop data-driven solutions to reduce environmental stressors, and 3) underpin evidence-based policies. Dr. Helbich obtained his Ph.D. in 2009 at the University of Vienna and was awarded the venia legendi in human geography at Heidelberg University in 2015. Since 2017, he is an Associate Professor at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and since 2023, he is a Leading Researcher (R4) at Research Group “Health and Quality of Life in a Green and Sustainable Environment”, Strategic Research and Innovation Program for the Development of MU - Plovdiv (SRIPD - MUP). He serves as editor of ‘Health & Place’ and ‘Journal of Transport and Land Use’. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed articles. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0392-8915