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What is mathematical epidemiology and how has it traditionally been used? What can epidemiological trends tell us and what is the importance of genomic surveillance? How can mathematical modelling support planning of COVID-19 interventions? Join us to review the history of mathematical epidemiology and modelling, its world-wide prominence over the last 12 months, and why we are discussing the science behind COVID-19 modelling and epidemiology data today. We will look at monitoring of genetic variants, communication beyond the science to decision makers, COVID-19 vaccine and intervention modelling, and how to interpret scenarios (not forecasts) for decision making.

Preliminary Programme
12:00 Setting the Scene and Interpreting Epidemiologicial Trends, Melissa Penny and Nakul Chitnis, Swiss TPH
12:25 Genomic Surveillance and Epidemiological Trends, Sarah Nadeau, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich)
12:50 Understanding Intervention Scenarios, Andrew Shattock, Swiss TPH
13:15 Q&A
13:30 End of Session

For more information and to register visit - https://www.swisstph.ch/en/about/events/ves/

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the role of science, technology and innovation is unprecedentedly and explicitly recognised as a vital driver of sustainability. The EU and the African Union equally recognise that a sustainable transition to knowledge-based economies needs to rely on science, research and innovation as cornerstones of their strategies.
In light of this, Friends of Europe is delighted to support, the EU and the African Union in the launch of the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE) Pilot Programme, a novel pan-African instrument to support scientific excellence with a European support of €25 million from the EU’s Development Cooperation Instrument. The pilot programme aims to enhance the conditions in which African knowledge is created and disseminated, and to make the African research ecosystem less vulnerable to brain drain.
As some 375 million young people are expected to reach working age in Africa within the next 15 years, investing in people, in particular in youth, is one of the cornerstones of the Africa-Europe partnership.

Incase you missed it visit https://www.friendsofeurope.org/events/virtual-launch-of-the-african-research-initiative-for-scientific-excellence-arise-pilot-programme/

The webinar will include the fundamentals of the GBD compare software, developed by the University of Washington, that will be used to retrieve and visualize sex-disaggregated data related to health research.

Register by 5 March 2022.

For registration and more information in English click here, French click here

Awards are available for successful applicants from LMICs to cover the cost of their travel, accommodation and single-entry visa.

Meeting summary: 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in global health research but frameworks, policy and best practice for the ethical review and oversight of AI-enabled studies is currently lacking. The Forum will discuss how traditional research ethics regulatory frameworks have responded to the rapid advances in AI technology, and what changes are required, including to the role and responsibility of research ethics committees (RECs). It will explore the ethical challenges such as bias, privacy, data provenance and ownership, along with the need for transparency, accountability and engagement during the design and use of AI in global health research. To date, these discussions have predominantly taken place in high-income countries, and low- and middle-income country (LMIC) perspectives have been underrepresented. The Forum will consider the LMIC context where AI has the potential to address critical skills shortages and improve access to care, but where the ethical challenges are made harder due to existing disparities in infrastructure, knowledge and capacity. The Forum will take a multidisciplinary approach to explore how AI technology is being designed and used in health research, reflecting the range of actors involved in this space and the importance of computer scientists and technologists who apply AI for health to understand research ethics frameworks and considerations.

As part of the upcoming meeting, the GFBR is seeking case studies that bring attention to key ethical issues that have emerged regarding the use of AI in health research in LMIC settings and proposals to participate in a session on governance issues. The GFBR is also seeking participants to attend the meeting, with places awarded on a competitive basis.    

Full details on how to apply are available on the GFBR website and the background paper provides further details on the meeting theme.   

The deadline for applications is 17.00 CET on 17 June 2022.