What a great way to start the new year, 2025, and to see the success of APSI, growing in leaps and bounds. The recent most APSI Outreach program, the launch of the ‘Science and Community: One Health Series’ was conducted on December 20, 2024, at VITM.
The series, with a prelaunch on Nov 12, 2024 will run through December-Feb 2025, and is a collaboration with National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, India, Visvesvaraya Museum, Bangalore and @Ministry of culture, Govt of India as part of the ongoing exhibit "Vaccine-Injecting hope" at VITM. The program series is designed by Dr. Sufia Sadaf, Program Manager, Outreach, RF-APSI, NCBS and Ms. Jyoti Mehra, Curator D, VITM.
The program was announced through the launch several exhibits, curated hands-on activities, educational games, films as part of the ongoing ‘Vaccines-Injecting Hope’ exhibition, and a panel of public health surveillance experts, climate health and animal health experts, clinicians for interactions with the assembled community members: ranging from colleges, students pursuing masters and bachelor’s in science, high school students, NGOs, educators. Prof. LS Shashidhara, Director, NCBS and Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Director, TIGS spoke to the enthusiastic participants about the need for public health surveillance programs, One Health concepts, community participation and involvements. Dr. J Srinivasan, Emeritus Professor, IISc shed light on the changing climates, and temperature among others as drivers for increasing favorable conditions for pathogens, adding to the disease propensity. Dr. Mansi Malik, Scientist, TIGS spoke in detail about the use of molecular diagnostics and genomic surveillance for clinical monitoring of diseases, and methods to mitigate the rising antimicrobial resistance. This was followed by an hour of panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Sufia Sadaf and Ms. Jyoti Mehra, with panelists: Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Dr. J Srinivasan, Shri Sajoo Bhaskaran, Director, VITM, Dr. Mansi Malik (TIGS), Dr. Shivranjani Moharir (TIGS), Dr Shivasharanappa Nayakvadi (Senior Scientits, ICAR-NIVEDI), Dr. Sindhulina Chandrasingh (Head – Laboratory Services & Consultant Microbiologist, Bangalore Baptist Hospital) on the following themes:
• Public health surveillance: Engaging Stakeholders: Why and how can stakeholders help the mission
• Climate change and One Health: Actionable solutions and ways to mitigate
• Building collaborations and Community contributions: Partnerships, collaborations, resource pooling and participation
These were followed by the interactive exhibits and curated hands-on activities assembled in the ‘Vaccine-Injecting hope’ exhibition, with engaging educational games around public health, surveillance, role of community participation.
The highlight of this program series was the interfacing of community with scientists, and experts from public health, environmental, animal health, learning through detailed interactions, and an array of exhibits, which are detailed, thought-provoking and engaging, appealing to audiences of all ages and abilities.
As part of the Public Outreach under The Rockefeller Foundation-Alliance for Pathogen Surveillance Innovations, APSI-India program, we are bringing the outcomes of ongoing research and innovations through the One Health kaleidoscope to the society.
Through this program series, we are interfacing the community with experts in the One Health field, through interactive talks, community engagement, curated hands-on activities, films and exhibits in the city’s Science Museum, a Mecca for the Science loving, curiosity-driven community members! The platform offers to bridge the gap between science and society, understanding public health as well as environmental and animal health. By offering the One health concepts and need to increase community participation to mitigate the challenges of infections, their causative organisms (pathogens) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Bridging gaps between ongoing research and society, initiating dialog and deliberations around public health, awareness and collaborations and the series is designed to include concepts of pathogens and disease burden, climate change, the need for novel strategies, and its contributions in actionable public health measures, the program module consisted of expert talks and a vibrant and engaging panel discussion between the audience members and the field experts. With creative modes of science outreach, films, art and exhibits, to share the concepts of pathogen surveillance and its role in mitigating/reducing disease-burden, novel pathogen surveillance strategies, through a one-health approach, i.e., the interconnectedness of human health, animal and environment, and long-term impact of community participation towards better one-health equilibrium.
APSI Outreach Lead: Dr. Sufia Sadaf and Ms. Jyoti Mehra