With this symposium we want to take a look forward at the future challenges that lie ahead of us in the field of emerging viruses. The last 2.5 years have changed our perspective, and the whole world is now familiar with this previously small field. Yet, many open questions remain, especially how we can be better prepared for, or even prevent the next pandemic.

In this symposium, we wish to discuss how SARS-CoV-2 as a newly circulating human pathogenic virus will further evolve and find its place in the human viral ecosystem, but also the latest vaccine approaches, how to implement better surveillance, latest aspects on monkeypox epidemiology, vaccination and treatment, the role of seroprevalence studies and phylogenetics to monitor outbreaks in real-time and other topics. We also want take a broader look on new risks of virus spillovers due to climate change and biodiversity loss, but also on society’s reaction to infectious disease threats, including vaccine hesitancy and the “infodemic”. 

Already confirmed speakers are Maria Van Kerkhove (WHO), Dirk Brockmann (Berlin, Germany), Christian Althaus (Bern, Switzerland), Piero Olliaro (Oxford, UK), Johannes Krause (Jena, Germany), Volker Thiel (Bern, Switzerland), Gary Kobinger (Galveston, USA), Florian Krammer (New York, USA), Alexandra Calmy (Geneva, Switzerland), Silvie Briand (WHO), Kai Kupferschmidt (Berlin, Germany), Emma Hodcroft (Bern and Geneva, Switzerland), and many more respected colleagues.

Please check our website for a full list of confirmed speakers and all other details - Registration is open now!

https://www.unige.ch/emerging-virus-symposium/

The symposium will be hosted as a hybrid meeting, with an in-person meeting in Geneva as well as online access to all sessions. Infection prevention measures for COVID-19 for on-site participation will be adapted according to the epidemiological situation at the time of the meeting. 

Program