Addressing new health challenges caused by climate change: a look back at the LabEx IBEID conference "Adapting to Change: Emerging Infectious Diseases in a Shifting Climate"

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the LabEx IBEID held a scientific conference from October 16 to 18. The major shifts in climate that have been occurring for several years are posing new infectious challenges, requiring scientists to reconsider strategic research priorities.

For this event, the LabEx IBEID opened its doors to the international community: 56% of participants came from outside the LabEx, including more than 8% from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly from the Pasteur Network. The travel grants offered enabled several people to come and present their research as oral or poster presentations.

Group photo at the lunch on Thursday

 

Photo of the recipients of travel grants with the LabEx IBEID coordination team

 

The conference was intended to serve as both a showcase for current research in the LabEx IBEID, led in particular by the young talents supported by the IBEID "Springboard 2 Independence" program (S2I: Michael Connor, Isabelle Louradour, Cassandra Koh, Sarah Merkling and Jorge Moura de Sousa), and an international event, with 19 external scientists invited. In total, more than 32 oral presentations and around 40 poster presentations stimulated discussions over the three-day event dedicated to the future of research into (re-)emerging infectious diseases and health in France, Europe and worldwide.

 

Cassandra Koh, laureate of the LabEx IBEID S2I program, presenting her research on the ecology of mosquito-borne viruses

Adrian Hill beginning his keynote lecture

 

From left to right, Philippe Bastin, Pascale Cossart, George Griffin and Philippe Sansonetti during the conference

 

Relaxed discussions during a poster session

 

Philippe Bastin summarizing the career of Peter Jay Hotez in the introduction to his keynote lecture

 

Scientific discussions during the poster session

 

An opportunity for informal discussions

 

Yasmine Belkaid and Monika Gulia-Nuss discovering the Foldscope developed by Manu Prakash

 

ver the past 15 years since it was founded, the LabEx IBEID has established a community of scientists working on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Bringing together the expertise of the Institut Pasteur, Alfort National Veterinary School, ANSES, Inserm, the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP) and Santé publique France, the project has been an effective driver for research, with more than 1,400 publications and 56 patents filed.

 

Yasmine Belkaid emphasized the importance of the LabEx IBEID for the scientific community working on infectious diseases

 

Yasmine Belkaid, President of the Institut Pasteur, with the project coordination team, Philippe Bastin, Carla Saleh and Cyril Renassia, and the founders of the LabEx IBEID, Pascale Cossart and Philippe Sansonetti

Thanks to the support of the sponsors and the Institut Pasteur's infrastructure, the organizing committee put together an extensive interdisciplinary program touching on multiple topics, with reputed guest speakers such as Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum (WHO), Monika Gulia-Nuss (University of Nevada), Adrian Hill (University of Oxford) and Sarah Gilbert (University of Oxford). The presentations by the inspiring line-up of speakers were recorded and are now available so that as many people as possible can find out about their research, scientific discoveries and reflections.

To see the opening lecture by Manu Prakash (Stanford University), which explores a range of ingenious approaches to resolve scientific problems by means of what he presents as "frugal science" and innovative thinking

To see the closing lecture by Peter Jay Hotez (Baylor College of Medicine) about current issues in vaccine science and how to deal with the anti-science era

 

Many thanks to you all for making this event a success for the LabEx IBEID and the Institut Pasteur.

 

Photo to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the LabEx IBEID with project coordinators Philippe Bastin and Carla Saleh.