Emerging Persistent and Infectious Diseases (EPID)

This conference series is part of the ISGP Signature Series.

Infectious diseases are a leading cause of human suffering and death, a major threat to international commerce and an increasingly critical source of political instability across the globe. While infectious disease outbreaks sporadically grab the public imagination and headlines (e.g., Ebola, measles, SARS, mad cow disease, flesh-eating bacteria and the swine flu), the news media rarely identify the complexity of scientific and technological (S&T) factors that must be considered to establish the domestic and international policies needed to effectively combat infectious diseases.

In a world experiencing a rapidly increasing population (nearly 9 billion people are expected to inhabit the planet by 2050), the combination of emerging and persistent infections and chronic conditions is dramatically altering societal capabilities to deal with human health. As a consequence, EPID has the potential for dominating policy decisions, including those directly determining national security, worldwide prosperity, and social stability.

Conferences in this series bring together subject-matter experts, academia, public and private-sector policy makers and other stakeholders in debates and discussions of factors related to global health challenges, including prevention, mitigation, surveillance, resistance and immunity, and societal and economic considerations. Conferences are conducted under Chatham House Rule (not for attribution).

EPID Series Conferences

• Antimicrobial Resistance: March 2013, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
• Societal and Economic Context: July 2012, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. Convened in cooperation with George Mason University.
• Focus on Mitigation: University of Edinburg, Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Focus on Prevention: June 2011, San Diego, California, U.S.
• Focus on Surveillance: October 2010, Warrenton, Virginia, U.S.
• Focus on Pandemic Preparedness: April 2014, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, U.S. Convened in partnership with Ursinus College.

Additional Information

• EPID Strategic Roadmap
• Proposal For EPID Phase 2

To learn more contact Jennifer Boice at jboice@scienceforglobalpolicy.com