In January, Sharon Hrynkow was preparing for a meeting of health ministers from the eight nations with territory in the Arctic. A lot was at stake and Hrynkow, a neuroscientist with a long-standing interest in global health, had a key part to play. As senior adviser to the assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) in the US Department of State, she was to help the United States decide on priorities for the meeting's agenda and inform the health-science topics covered, such as climate change and global health. As sea ice shrinks, the region is facing escalating pollution from oil and gas exploration as well as a rise in commercial shipping.
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