You might not be ready to hear it quite yet, but the pandemic caused by the coronavirus will not be the last pandemic. How can we best manage and contain the next outbreak? In this online lecture, Dr. Anja Schreijer, expert in infectious disease control, discusses the importance of testing and contact tracing, and lessons learned from the current crisis.
“History tells us this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life”, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video message in late December. He strongly encourages countries to prepare better by working to prevent, detect, and mitigate emergencies of all kinds.
If anything, the past year has been a steep, worldwide learning curve to be better prepared for a completely new virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of investing in systems to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Anja Schreijer will share insights from the past year and discuss how more advanced screening and testing methods can contribute to containing future outbreaks.
Dr. Anja Schreijer is a Medical Doctor specialized in society and health, and Head Infectious Disease Control at GGD (Public Health Service) Amsterdam. As of 2020, she chairs the National Consultation Infectious Disease Control (Landelijk Overleg Infectieziektebestrijding, LOI) and is a member of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) that advises the Dutch government on the COVID-19 outbreak.
SensUs 2021 – student competition on biosensors
This program is organized in collaboration with Honors-student team SensUs of TU/e, organizers of the SensUs Student Competition 2021. An international student competition on the development of biosensors. A biosensor is a device that can measure a specific biomarker, a chemical substance in the body. There are many different biosensors that can measure different molecules. This year’s SensUs competition will focus on the detection of acute respiratory viruses. The organization challenges teams from all over the globe to develop innovative biosensing systems to detect Influenza A in saliva. On the 3rd of September, 2021, the teams will present their own, innovative biosensors to the world during the SensUs Event 2021.