EADV Congress keynote lecture
Every year, the EADV Congress keynote lectures serve as the premier opening address, bridging dermatology and venereology with broader scientific and societal perspectives. Delivered by world-renowned experts, they challenge traditional thinking to inspire new approaches to patient care and research.
Plenary session with keynote lecture
Room: Hall A
Date: Wednesday, 30 September, 17:45 - 19:00 CEST
CHAIRS
Lidia Rudnicka
Poland
Branka Marinovic
Croatia
From COVID-19 to the Infodemic: Implications for the future
18:10 - 18:45 CEST
Of the 5 major global crises currently prioritised by the United Nations, pandemics and the growing threat of infodemics pose near-term risks that require urgent mitigation. As seen with HIV/AIDS and COVID-19, both scientific progress and persistent gaps exist in the global response to pandemics. To respond to these pandemics, science has provided the evidence to guide public health actions.
In AIDS, a 40-year research journey is captured by its key milestones where clinical research provided critical evidence. Whether the focus is on treatment or prevention, carefully accumulated scientific evidence, largely through clinical trials, has guided the global AIDS response. Building on the lessons learned from AIDS, a research response to COVID-19 generated critical evidence that identified the first SARS-CoV-2 variant and subsequently Omicron in South Africa. The research response to Covid-19 in that country is analysed and its influence on the global pandemic response outlined.
While mis- and dis-information existed long before Covid-19, the pandemic provided a new impetus for the current infodemic, particularly through unregulated social media. A dangerous trend has emerged where dis-information is driving societal polarisation and erosion of trust in science. Disinformation has become central to camouflage the accumulation of wealth and power by a few individuals, while truth-sayers have become targets. Intellectuals, scientists and doctors are key to upholding truth in society as truth-sayers committed to creating a safer and healthier world.
Salim Abdool Karim
South Africa
Salim S. Abdool Karim, FRS, is a clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist widely recognized for scientific contributions in HIV and Covid-19. He is the Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) in Durban, South Africa and CAPRISA Professor of Global Health at Columbia University. He serves as Special Advisor on pandemics to the Director-General of the World Health Organisation.
He is an Adjunct Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard University, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Cornell University and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He previously served as President of the South African Medical Research Council.
His clinical research on TB-HIV treatment has shaped international guidelines on the clinical management of co-infected patients. He co-led the CAPRISA 004 trial that provided proof-of-concept for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – that antiretrovirals can prevent sexually transmitted HIV infection. He is co-inventor on patents used in HIV vaccine candidates and passive immunisation strategies with broadly neutralising antibodies.
He has been ranked among the world’s most highly cited scientists by Web of Science. He is co-editor of textbooks on epidemiology (Oxford), HIV/AIDS (Cambridge) and clinical trials (Springer). He is the author of “Standing up for Science: A Voice of Reason” (Pan MacMillan). He serves on the Boards of the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Global Health and Lancet HIV. He has received Lasker, Gairdner, Hideyo Noguchi and Kwame Nkrumah Prizes.
He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).