Imagine beating every strain of flu with a single jab. Wiping out your risk of some lethal cancers, HIV, and Ebola during a routine doctor’s visit. That’s the promise of next-generation vaccines, and researchers are closing in on the basic science needed to bring them to reality.

Join epidemiologists, virologists, and public-health experts as they share insights on the new wave of vaccine research, and the race to eliminate pandemic threats. Setting the stage for the discussion is a screening of Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s chilling thriller about a deadly flu outbreak and the global race to contain it.

The World Science Festival gathers great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that allows a broad general audience to engage with scientific discoveries. Our mission is to cultivate a general public informed by science, inspired by its wonder, convinced of its value, and prepared to engage with its implications for the future.

Original Program Date: June 2, 2012

LOCATION: World Science Festival

MODERATOR: Richard Besser

PARTICIPANTS: Laurie Garrett, Gary Nabel, Michael Osterholm, Harold Varmus

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Related: Coronavirus — Your pandemic history primer

The intersection of human societies, agricultural and wild animals ensures that new diseases — sometimes devastatingly infectious — spring up again and again. This is a panel discussion recorded at the World Science Festival Brisbane last year on the history and future of pandemics and epidemics, and published on ABC recently.

Dr Norman Swan and a panel of experts cover the history of past outbreaks, how diseases jump from animals to humans, and how health authorities tackle pandemics — all key components to understanding the ongoing response to COVID-19.

Guests:

John Epstein
Vice President, Eco Health

Kathy Andrews
Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University

Raina MacIntyre
Professor of Global Biosecurity, Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales

Peta-Anne Zimmerman
Graduate Infection Prevention and Control Program, Griffith University

Presenter: Norman Swan

Producer: James BullenDuration: 33min 56secBroadcast: Thu 12 Mar 2020, 4:00am