Café des Sciences: Scientific View on COVID-19

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has kept a tight grip on China with a large number of confirmed patients and casualties, eliciting firm travel restrictions in order to keep the contagion in check. These necessary measures greatly impact our daily lives, even on a global scale.

The fast emergence of COVID-19 means that current understanding of its transmission patterns, severity, clinical features and risk factors for infection remains limited, while contradictory information on the virus is almost ubiquitous. We have learnt about masks, gloves, sanitizers, and self-quarantine; yet the science behind COVID-19 and our practices remains vague.

Therefore, join us at this webinar to learn from two Swiss epidemiologists, experts on infectious diseases, and gain knowledge on viruses and COVID-19, specifically its transmission, severity, and pandemic risk. The Q&A session allows interaction between the experts and the audience.

Event Rundown

16:00 Webinar starts

16:00 – 16:05 Opening Remarks
Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO at Swissnex in China

16:05 – 16:30 Presentation
Dr. Christian Althaus, Head of Research Group, Immuno-Epidemiology Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern

16:30 – 16:55 Q&A Session
Dr. Christian Althaus

Prof. Dr. Pietro Vernazza, Head of Division Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Switzerland

16:55 – 17:00 End Note
Dr. Felix Moesner

Speakers

Bio

Dr. Christian Althaus
Head of Research Group, Immuno-Epidemiology, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern
Dr. Christian Althaus is a computational epidemiologist and research group leader at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He graduated from Biology at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and obtained a Ph.D. in Theoretical Biology at Utrecht University (The Netherlands). He uses mathematical and computational modeling in combination with data analyses to investigate how the population biology of infectious diseases is affected by environmental changes, dynamic patterns of host immunity, or public health interventions. Dr. Althaus is a renowned expert for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases and has published several key studies on the spread of Ebola, MERS and the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Bio

Prof. Dr. Pietro Vernazza
Head of Division Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Switzerland
Dr. Pietro Vernazza received his training in infectious diseases at UNC Chapel Hill, NC after his Internal medicine training in St. Gallen in 1991-93. His research focused on the sexual transmission of HIV. Since 2000 he is and head of the ID Division at the KSSG, St. Gallen, Switzerland. From 2008 to 2015 he was the president of the Swiss commission on sexual health, this commission developed the “Swiss Statement” on non-infectiousness during HIV treatment, issued in January 2008. His field of research is focussed on infectiousness of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV. Pietro Vernazza committed scores of national and international HIV-studies. He serves as a medical advisor for the Federal Office of Public Health in issues related to infectious diseases and public health.

Café des Sciences

Shanghai | Every third Thursday each month

Café des Sciences is a new format at Swissnex in China offering a monthly platform for Swiss Spotlight Scientists and Startups to present their projects and connect with the local community. The lectures will offer a casual setting in which speakers can present their work and engage with the attendees during a Q&A period. Audiences are welcomed to enjoy the networking reception with Swiss flavour after the talk. The lecture is scheduled to take place every third Thursday each month at Swissnex in China or our partner spaces.