The opening seminar for the Centre for Pandemic and One-Health Research (P1H) On 30 May a number of important pandemic stakeholders and researchers gathered together for presentations and debate in front of an audience of about 70 people in the Domus Bibliotheca. The debate clearly demonstrated that there are many important questions that we do not have good answers to and that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary in order to better understand not only the basic biological mechanisms of an infectious disease, but also psychosocial, public health, legal and religious issues and consequences. Researcher and senior consultant Asgeir Johannessen provided a vivid insight into the hectic work of an infectious disease department in the spring of 2020. At the same time, his major dilemma was that the pandemic in Norway prevented him from working with another significant and serious infectious disease – hepatitis B – in the global south.
Establishment of P1H
P1H was established at the Faculty of Medicine six months ago and included as one of three centres in the faculty's Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Education (SUSTAINIT). The purpose of the centre is to promote convergence and interdisciplinary research and research training in pandemic medicine and one-health and to highlight, promote, supplement and further develop ongoing and new projects within these areas at UiO and close collaborative partners. We will commence the work of establishing a multidisciplinary platform and strategy with a workshop on 15-16 June to identify knowledge gaps and establish forms of cooperation for future collaboration on applications and projects. A broad invitation has been sent out for the workshop, which will gather approximately 40 participants from both UiO and our collaborative partners.
A portal for collaboration and better synergy
COVID-19 demonstrated that UiO has many very strong research groups within pandemic and one-health research, and that they are spread throughout the entire university. Establishing a centre will enable us to achieve better synergies. This will also provide us with a portal for cooperating with institutions in the community around us. Despite the WHO recently stating that COVID-19 no longer represents an international public health crisis, new outbreaks of infectious diseases and potential pandemics will emerge.
Pandemics can be avoided
Outbreaks can occur in connection with the transmission of microorganisms from animals to humans. Factors such as loss of biodiversity, antimicrobial resistance, high population density and climate change increase the risk of outbreaks. Research is necessary for being able to understand mechanisms and the interactions between these factors. In addition, we need to acquire more knowledge about what causes an outbreak to become a pandemic and how this can be prevented. Larry Brilliant, who contributed to the eradication of smallpox, has stated that "Outbreaks are inevitable, but pandemics are optional". This not only requires knowledge of biological mechanisms, but also of the communities in which an outbreak occurs and to which it must be prevented from spreading.
P1H will have a multidisciplinary approach
This means that while P1H has been established at MED, it will have a multidisciplinary approach that mirrors the inter-faculty initiative headed by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth to establish a pandemic centre at UiO. The centre now has an acting head (Jens Petter Berg) in a 50% position financed by MED, a 30% deputy head position (Nils Chr. Stenseth) financed by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN) and a project coordinator (Jason Whittington) financed by a grant from UiO:Life Science. P1H is very grateful for the grant, which also makes it possible to partially finance an interdisciplinary research group and a student group at the centre.
Jens Petter Berg
Read more about the opening event: Fra krise til mulighet: Fremtidens pandemiberedskap.
