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One Health: Greifswald starts a series of lectures on protecting people and animals!
University of Greifswald starts lecture series on One Health on April 8th, 2025 to analyze health-relevant connections.
One Health: Greifswald starts a series of lectures on protecting people and animals!
The COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumental in increasing awareness of the connections between humans, animals, the environment and society. In this context, the One Health approach has become more important. [Uni-Greifswald] reports that the History Institute at the University of Greifswald has launched an interdisciplinary lecture series on this complex topic in order to promote scientific exchange and underline its relevance to public health.
The One Health approach looks at the complex connections between the health of people, animals, plants and their environment. The Helmholtz Institute for One Health was founded in Greifswald to advance research on pathogens and infectious diseases. The aim is to strengthen the local research landscape and gain importance both nationally and internationally.
Upcoming lectures and topics
The first public evening lecture will take place on April 8th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the Alfried Krupp Science College. Dr. Jan Frederik Gogarten will talk about the One Health approach and research on pathogens. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Mathias Grote presents the results from the perspective of historical science.
Several lectures are planned at the Historical Institute in the following months:
- 20.05.2025: Beat Bächi (Zürich) – „Stress im Schweinestall. Zur Verschränkung von Leistung und Gesundheit(en), 1950–2000.“ Respondentin: Annelie Ramsbrock.
- 17.06.2025: Hannah Landecker (Los Angeles) – „The Biology of Mass Production? Using Data and Methods from Twentieth Century Social History in the Study of Anthropogenic Life.“ Respondentin: Katharina Riedel.
- 01.07.2025: Barbara Orland (Basel) – „Galenisch oder Chymisch? Pharmakologische Kontroversen der Frühen Neuzeit.“ Respondentin: Ulrike Garscha.
Scientific and social relevance
The need to strengthen the One Health approach is also highlighted by challenges such as zoonoses. These infectious diseases that spread from animals to humans, as well as increasing resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs, have become the focus of research. According to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), human interventions in animal habitats as well as global mobility and international trade flows pose new risks to health.
The BMBF has set itself the goal of promoting research into zoonotic diseases and is working in close collaboration with six federal ministries to achieve this. The National Research Platform for Zoonoses is now being expanded into the One Health Platform to strengthen cross-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange. Institutions such as the German Center for Infection Research and the Helmholtz Institute for One Health in Greifswald play a central role.
The international perspective is also promoted, for example through the BMBF's participation in the European partnership “One Health AMR”, which is scheduled to start in 2025. This initiative aims to strengthen the connection between research and practice in order to combat pandemics more effectively. An example of this cross-disciplinary research is the National Research Network for Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, which was funded until 2023.
The lectures at the University of Greifswald and the BMBF's initiatives illustrate the urgency of continuing to pursue the One Health approach. This is crucial to better understand and manage health risks posed by climate change and other environmental factors.
For further information, those interested can contact Prof. Dr. Mathias Grote, Heisenberg Professorship for the History of Knowledge at the Historical Institute of the University of Greifswald.