News

Forum on Climate and Disease Convenes December 9-10

Global climate change and emerging disease threats are among the most pressing issues facing the world today. The Forum on Climate and Disease will address the current state of our knowledge on the relationship between climate and disease by bringing together a group of academic and government scientists with international experience in climate and disease research. A range of topics will be presented that demonstrate the need, capacity, and benefits of understanding how climate influences risk for infectious diseases in humans. The implementation of advanced technologies in disease surveillance and prediction based upon climate data will be demonstrated and discussed.

The objective is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for cross-fertilization among the disciplines of climatology, microbiology, epidemiology, and ecology, and to identify needs for advancing international efforts to mitigate disease risk caused by climate change. The Forum seeks to examine the scientific evidence on climate impact upon human disease and to identify key areas for future research.

The Center for the Study of Global Change and the Center for Eco-Epidemiology, both Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS) centers, will co-sponsor the Forum. This is the first interdisciplinary YIBS forum intended to bridge the natural and medical sciences in order to address a common issue.

The Forum will consist of 10 presentations over the course of 1 and ½ days. Each presentation will be followed by a question and discussion period with audience participation. Admission to the Forum is free and open to the Yale community and the public.

For more information, please visit the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies.