Workshop on Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disases; University of California, Berkeley; June, 26-30, 2018

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support a workshop on Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. The workshop has two objectives. The first objective is to review recent progress in ecology and infectious disease research and identify key gaps in data, information, and knowledge. The second objective is to identify research priority areas and discuss possible mechanisms for joint, international cooperation on research and education activities in ecology and infectious disease research. This is important since infectious diseases do not recognize international borders. The emergence and re-emergence of human, animal and plant infectious diseases around the world have been a major concern for various economic sectors (e.g., crop production, livestock production, forestry), biodiversity, and public health and security. Broader impacts from the workshop include publishing a paper on the current status, gaps, and research priorities in ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, training opportunities for US faculty and students, and network building opportunities for researchers and institutions from the US. A number of large-scale epidemics of infection diseases (e.g., H5N1, H7N9, Ebola and Zika) in the past two decades have resulted in substantial losses of human life, as well as in increased economic burdens. Researchers who have been at the forefront of research, education, surveillance, control and prevention of many infectious diseases, will be brought together for this workshop to communicate and synthesize current knowledge of epidemiology, ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. By identifying and assessing major gaps in data, information and knowledge in the EEID, this workshop is going to contribute to the global community's effort and advance our ability and skills in predicting and mapping hot-spots, hot-moments, emergence, spread, and persistence of infectious diseases in the near future. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.