News
Science Talks at LMU: Science and (Public) Health
12 Jan 2023
At the seventh of our Science Talks, experts will be discussing the scale of the risks from future pandemics and what we can do to combat them.
Its role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown global research on infectious diseases and vaccines into the public spotlight like never before. What have we learned so far from the pandemic? And how can science and medicine contribute to the advancement of public health in the future? Research on the risks and the containment of new pandemics is vitally important in times of climate change, shrinking habitats for wild animals, and globalization. Where are we on this journey?
These questions will be explored in the panel discussion on 24 January 2023 as part of LMU’s Science Talks series.
Panel discussion
“Science and (Public) Health: Research on Risks of Future Pandemics”
Tuesday, 24 January 2023
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
at the Great Aula, LMU main building and as a livestream
Registration is not required to attend the event in person.
Further information on the Science Talks
Contact: ringvorlesung@lmu.de
The Science Talks are being held in German. A recording with English subtitles will be published on YouTube a week after the event date.
Panelists:
© Jan Greune/LMU
Professor Oliver T. Keppler
“Pandemics have always been part of human history. Plague, pox, cholera, polio, and measles, for example, have all presented humanity with great challenges. In the past 100 years, we’ve experienced several influenza pandemics, and in the early 1980s we saw the beginning of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Climate change, population growth, and global connectivity are increasing the risk of the emergence and rapid global spread of new infectious diseases. On the other hand, the tools at our disposal to control pandemics are better than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic has impressively showcased the possibilities and quality of international science, biomedicine, and the public health sector, while also revealing areas for improvement. Pandemics are already part of our everyday lives, but we have it in our power to effectively combat and control them.”
Prof. Oliver T. Keppler is Director and Chair of Virology at LMU’s Max von Pettenkofer Institute and Principal Investigator at the Gene Center Munich.
© RKI
Professor Lothar H. Wieler
"The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest health threat we have faced in this century. First and foremost, it was a public health crisis. The last pandemic on this scale happened around a hundred years ago at the end of the First World War – and like then, we live in uncertain times today. Globalization and migration, changes in land use, military conflicts, civil wars, climate change, and the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance are just some of the factors that promote the emergence and spread of novel pathogens. Precisely now, it’s important to strengthen our public health capacities for the long term. This includes preparing for future health threats."
Prof. Lothar H. Wieler is President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the main biomedical research institution of the German federal government. In this capacity, he advises the government on subjects like the containment of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and monkeypox.