Veterinary and medical students find inspiration, hope and leadership lessons at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 conference celebrating 10 years of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Institute
By Jennie Lane, Kristin Burns, Annica Stull-Lane and Cara Newberry
On May 2, students, young career professionals, researchers, partners and leaders in global health gathered online from around the world for
鈥淐OVID-19: Global Perspectives on a Global Pandemic鈥 served as the theme of the , held over Zoom and on Facebook Live. Attendees heard expert updates on the pandemic, explored gender and socioeconomic disparities and were offered a blueprint for hope from scientists on the front lines of pandemic prevention and response.
In addition, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Day highlighted 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 student research with a . More than 71 students across all 10 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 campuses participated across nine tracks including One Health, diseases, planetary health, health policy, and women鈥檚 health, gender and empowerment.
The conference celebrated the 10th anniversary of the , a 新澳门六合彩内幕信息-wide initiative that promotes global health research, education, and collaboration to advance health in California and worldwide. A video tribute honored Dr. Haile Debas, the Institute鈥檚 founding director. His vision for 新澳门六合彩内幕信息GHI served as an inspiring reminder to all of us working in global health to have optimism, resilience and passion.
Student Takeaways
Two students participating in 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Day, one in veterinary medicine and one in human health, also felt the optimism and spirit of collaboration embodied by the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息GHI and presenters. They offered their perspectives on the day:
MD/PhD student in the Physician Scientist Training program at the
新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Day was inspiring and hopeful during this global crisis. As a trainee, it's motivating to see such incredible leadership at the faculty level to build collaborative networks spanning academia, industry and government partners. It was inspiring to hear that, as students, we can also be involved in building a network of leaders for today and tomorrow. Globally, we are all interdependent on each other and must have a team approach to the pandemic.
Cara Newberry
Veterinary student, DVM Class of 2022 at the
Poster Presenter, Disease Track:
I particularly enjoyed the hope and optimism the speakers showed about the ongoing collaborative work on COVID-19. I was excited to learn that at least six vaccines are already in clinical trials, and that the will be continuing to research and discover new viral threats worldwide.
One speaker joked about how few people probably knew what an R0 was before 2020 (R0 is short for reproduction number, indicating how contagious an infectious disease is), which just goes to show how interest in and support of science is hopefully growing. With these scientific advancements and collaborations in mind, the speakers highlighted how we can and will reach the end of the Pandemic Era.
Another topic I enjoyed hearing about was the importance of good leadership. Across countries, it鈥檚 clear that strong leadership has fostered trust and compliance, at a time when both are critical. For example, one country exemplified good leadership with the use of simple and clear slogans such as 鈥渇irst life, then livelihood.鈥 Additionally, it was interesting to learn how different countries are affected by the current pandemic, and this conference provided us insight to their situation and strategies for response.
Lastly, faculty and speakers gave advice to students and future leaders. One important note was to understand how interdependent our planet is and to take steps鈥攕uch as tuning into 新澳门六合彩内幕信息GHI鈥檚 virtual event鈥攖o broaden our worldview and consider how connected yet different our situations are. Overall, the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息GHI virtual event was not only a valuable educational experience, but also a positive way to connect with our worldwide scientific community.
Final Thoughts
While we weren鈥檛 able to see everyone in person this year at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Santa Cruz as originally planned, the virtual event provided a platform for global participation. 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Day's keynote speaker, Executive Director Dr. Jonna Mazet, outlined key steps necessary to ensure future pandemics like this never happen again, saying: 鈥淲e can, and must, redefine that national and global health paradigm to include emerging infectious diseases while simultaneously building robust, interconnected, and resilient public health response systems. Together, we can build a healthier, more prepared global community.鈥 A fitting call to action for our 新澳门六合彩内幕信息GHI community now, and in the future.
Watch 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Global Health Day now: