Recent arbovirus outbreaks – specifically dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in the Americas – led NIAID and the Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kouri” in Cuba to co-host a joint scientific meeting on Addressing Global Health Challenges Through Scientific Innovation and Biomedical Research. The meeting was held Feb. 14-16 in Havana.
The arbovirus cases, atop the COVID-19 pandemic, are reminders that emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases can quickly become research priorities and pose global health threats.
Though infectious disease was prominent in conference discussions, the scientific agenda sought to highlight biomedical research areas of mutual and global priority. These topics are becoming increasingly interconnected in the U.S. and worldwide. As such, the conference brought together researchers to review current science and discuss ways to develop effective interventions to control epidemics in the Americas and globally.
The bilateral technical scientific research meeting convened subject matter experts on infectious and non-communicable diseases, including arboviruses, pandemic preparedness, cancer, neurological disorders, and long-term health concerns. The agenda also included cross-cutting biomedical research areas, such as immunology, genomics, and precision medicine.
The Cuban Academy of Sciences (ACC) provided a meeting highlight by honoring two U.S. scientists for their longstanding and innovative contributions to global arbovirus and neurological disorders research. Each scientist was granted the designation of Corresponding Academic to the ACC.