Climate, pandemics and disasters:
PDPC research highlights

 

We are pleased to invite you to the 2nd Congress on Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Research, which will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on October 3rd, 2024.

The theme of this year’s meeting is "Climate, pandemic and disasters: PDPC research highlights " and we have an exciting program planned with interesting keynote speakers.

This year’s congress will feature discussions on innovative approaches to addressing disasters and pandemics. We are inviting renowned experts in the field and from the PDPC to share their experiences and insights, and we hope that the congress will provide an opportunity for networking and exchanging ideas.

The event will be conducted entirely in English, and we welcome attendees who share our focus on disaster and pandemic preparedness. We believe that the congress will be a valuable learning opportunity for all participants, and we hope that you will join us at the Hulstkamp Gebouw in Rotterdam.

Location

Hulstkamp Gebouw
Maaskade 119, 3071 NK Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Program

 

09.00 - 09.05   Welcome and opening congress
Geert Maarse, Chairman of the day

09.05 - 09.20    Introduction PDPC congress
Prof. Marion Koopmans, Scientific director PDPC

 

 

 

09.20 - 10.00    Keynote lecture: The role of hydrology in water, climate and health
Prof. Stefan Krause, Professor of Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry at the School of  Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University Birmingham

 

 

 

 

10.00 - 10.30    Climate adaptation in the Rotterdam Rijnmond region – Effects of temporary water buffers on vectorborne diseases
Dr. Reina Sikkema, Assistant professor at the Virology department of the Erasmus MC; Prof. Pier Siebesma, Professor at the TU Delft in Atmosphere physics; Marit Meier, Policy advisor water systems (ecology and water quality) at the Water authority Schieland and the Krimpenerwaard

 Reina Sikkema         Pier Siebesma         Marit Meier

 

 

 

Changes in the weather and adaptions in the landscape – also to address these  changes – bring new opportunities for vectors of virus. What does this mean and how to prepare for this?

10.30 - 11.00     Coffee Break with Posters

11.00 - 11.30      Transformational and transdisciplinary research
Prof. Esther Turnhout, Chair of Science, Technology and Society, section Knowledge, Transformation and Society (KiTeS), University of Twente

 

 

 

 

11.30 - 12.15       Towards social and urban resilience
Dr. Kevin Pijpers and Guusje Enneking (PhD candidate), on Living Lab Rotterdam

 

 

 

To improve resilience in an urban environment requires to be familiar with the challenges the population faces and to get a good view on how people deal with these given the social context. Kevin Pijpers and Guusje Enneking will share their experiences with setting up and participating in a living lab.

12.15 - 13.15     Lunch break with poster

13.15 - 14.15    Panel discussion on interdisciplinary advice during pandemics

Panel leader:
Dr. Anja Schreijer, medical director PDPC

 

 

 

 

Panelmembers:
Prof. Tony Holohan, Director Centre for One Health, University College Dublin, former CMO Ireland;

 

 

Dr. Susan van den Hof – Head of the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Surveillance at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM);

 

 

 

Prof. Jet Bussemaker, Professor in Policy, Science and Societal Impact, especially health, Leiden University;

 

 

 

Frank Kooiman, Director of Infectious Diseases Policy Department of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport;

 

 

 

 

Prof. Danielle Timmermans, Professor in Public Health Risk Communication, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC

 

 

 

14.15 - 14.45    Integrated early-warning surveillance methods and tools

Prof. Gertjan Medema, Principal microbiologist at KWR and professor at TU Delft in Sanitary Engineering; Pouria Paridar (PhD candidate); Ege Sener (PhD candidate); Putri Ayu Fajar (PhD candidate)

Gertjan Medema      Pouria Paridar            Ege Sener             Putri Ayu Fajar

 

 

 

 

Emerging viruses spread rapidly via human transport systems. Wastewater monitoring has been used for early warning of (re)emergence of polio, Covid, RSV, influenza, Zika, mpox and others. Researchers in this frontrunner are combining transport network data with epi-intelligence, sampling methods and metaviromics to develop an early warning system for pathogen X.

14.45 - 15.15     Tea Break - Last chance to vote for the public poster award

15.15 - 16.00    Keynote lecture-  Airborne respiratory disease transmission
Prof. dr. Lydia Bourouiba, directs the Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory, part of the Fluids and Health Network at the intersection of physics/biophysics and health, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. Sander Herfst, Associate professor at the Virology department of the Erasmus MC

 

 

 

Many mitigation strategies target the modes of virus transmission via direct contact, indirect contact and via large or small droplets. To work on strategies to reduce the spread, we need a greater understanding of the contribution of various routes of transmission of respiratory viruses. Researchers of Erasmus MC and TU Delft work together to get this better insights.

16.00 - 16.45    Flood risk cultures
Prof. Wiebe Bijker, Professor Emeritus of Technology and Society, Maastricht University; Prof. Roland Bal, Professor in Health Care Policy and Governance, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management and others

Prof. Wiebe Bijker  Prof. Roland Bal
                          

 

 

 

Risk cultures differ between countries and even regions - and matter for how risks are managed. The ways in which flood risks are handled are a case in point. In this session we talk about these differences in risk cultures with amongst other Prof. Wiebe Bijker, who analyzed differences between the Dutch and Americans dealing with flood risks and himself lives in a region that is regularly flooded.                            

16.45 - 17.00     Poster Awards (winners pitch)

17.00 - 18.00    Drinks

 

Abstract submission 

You are also warmly invited to share your work at the conference’s poster presentation session by submitting an abstract for consideration.  Please submit your abstract by September 8th, 2024 via this link.

Website

For more information check the website:
https://convergence.nl/nl/event/internationaal-pdpc-congres/

Contact

Abstract submission and registration: i.marks@erasmusmc.nl
Questions of content: pdpc@erasmusmc.nl

 

We look forward to your participation.

On behalf of the PDPC Academic Board,

Marion Koopmans, Thom Bogaard, Anja Schreijer and Pearl Dykstra