Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC)

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟    In January, we kicked off 2025 with a festive and inspiring New Year’s Event themed “Preparation through Collaboration”. Held at The Green Village in Delft, the event was opened by PDPC board member Thom Bogaard, Professor in Hydrology and Geomorphology. He reflected on Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC)’s milestones of 2024 and emphasized the importance of being prepared through collaboration. Marjan Kreijns, Director of The Green Village, followed with a lively presentation about the Green Village concept. The Green Village is an ‘open-air laboratory’ on the TU Delft Campus focused on the built environment, where testing can take place at district, street, and building levels. This unique village is used for living, working, and learning. 🏡 We then enjoyed an interesting, guided tour of the village, where various ongoing tests were demonstrated and explained to us. 🧪 🎨 Next, we tapped into our creative talents by depicting natural disasters with paint. This activity revealed that, in addition to being good academics, our team possesses creative talents, resulting in some beautiful collaborative paintings.  The day concluded with a presentation by PDPC’s Scientific Director, Prof. Marion Koopmans, who outlined the road ahead. 🚀  We look back on an inspiring start of the new year and look forward to a prepared and successful 2025 together.     #NewYearEvent #Collaboration #Innovation #Preparation #GreenVillage #TUDelft #Teamwork #PDPC

𝐊𝐢𝐜𝐤-𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 – 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 Last Tuesday, the sounding board and members of the PRESENT consortium came together in Utrecht for the kick-off meeting of the PRESENT project. This collaborative effort, involving the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC), Erasmus MC, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB), UMC Utrecht, SEO Economisch Onderzoek, and Nivel, is investigating the short- and medium-term effects of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sounding board consists of representatives the Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Municipal Public Health Services Zuid-Holland Zuid (GGD ZHZ), VO-raad, MBO Raad, and CNV Onderwijs. Two representatives were invited on personal merit, due to their experience as a Landelijk Aktie Komitee Scholieren board member, and research on school closures at a GGD. Dr. Anja Schreijer, Medical Director of the PDPC, opened the meeting by outlining the meeting’s two main goals: 1️⃣ Bridging the gap between researchers and stakeholders  2️⃣ Exchanging ideas on how school closures impact health, educational performance, and policy The team introduced the project’s four 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 (𝐖𝐏𝐬): • 𝐖𝐏𝟏: Studying the effects of virus transmission, including a systematic literature review (WP1a) and a quantitative analysis (WP1b)  • 𝐖𝐏𝟐: Focusing on the impact of school closures on education, work, and mental well-being  • 𝐖𝐏𝟑: Addressing the economic effects of school closures  • 𝐖𝐏𝟒: Facilitating knowledge synthesis between the PRESENT consortium and stakeholders, providing results and recommendations for implementation    A 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 encouraged participants to reflect on the following question: "What would you like policy actors to know to better accommodate the needs of young people in case of a new pandemic?" Key discussions touched on topics such as: ✔️ Integrated decision-making  ✔️ Alternative measures to closures  ✔️ Support for vulnerable students The day concluded with a 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, where we reflected on valuable insights from the sounding board and explored ways to integrate these findings into the project. This meeting provided 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 to guide the next steps of our research. We want to thank the stakeholders and the members of the PRESENT consortium for their active participation and contributions. Together, we look forward to advancing our understanding of the effects of school closures and improving preparedness for future pandemics.  🔗 For a full summary of the day please follow this link: https://lnkd.in/eVRKea2K   #PDPC #Research #Education #PublicHealth #COVID19 #Collaboration #SchoolClosures #PandemicPreparedness #PRESENT

🌐 Reflecting on Five Years of Covid As we mark five years since the arrival of SARS-Cov-2, the BBC’s Science in Action has released a two-part special podcast series examining how well science was prepared for the pandemic and whether we are now in a better position to face future outbreaks.Among the experts that are featured in this insightful discussion is our Scientific Director, Prof. Marion Koopmans. Additionally, in a recent EenVandaag interview, Koopmans emphasizes the need for countries to strengthen their pandemic preparedness. She calls for improved surveillance systems, strategic investments in research, and the establishment of a dedicated response team to address future health crises swiftly and effectively. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/e_GQZsrC 📚 Read the full item from EenVandaag here: https://lnkd.in/eWwZuwS3 #ScienceInAction #Covid19 #BBCNews #Eenvandaag #PublicHealth #Research #PandemicPreparedness #PodcastRecommendation 

🌟 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐈𝐏 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦! With the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Centre (PDPC), we participated by hosting three workshops on 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤. The sessions were led by Jeannette de Boer, Bart Blokland, Tim Florschütz , and Lois van Eck and provided valuable insights. A great opportunity to contribute to strengthening infectious disease control and pandemic preparedness. Thanks to all for the interactive participation. 🙌 #Collaboration #PandemicPreparedness #InterdisciplinaryAdvice #PandemicOutbreak #VIPSymposium 

🌍 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – 𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐂𝟏𝟐 We warmly invite you to submit an abstract for 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝟕: "𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫-𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬" at the upcoming 𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐂𝟏𝟐 – 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 🌿 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (7-11 July 2025). This session, led by Stephan de Roode one of our researchers within Frontrunner 1, will explore the intersection of 𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 and 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡, focusing on how climate change impacts vector-borne diseases and other health outcomes in urban environments, including rapidly urbanizing coastal delta areas. 💡 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭? This session aims to: 🔬 Bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss recent findings, methodologies, and practical solutions for mitigating health risks associated with urban climate change in these regions. 🤝 Facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge exchange 📢 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞:  https://lnkd.in/e6_RDPRs 🗓️ 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 31 January 2025, 13:00 CET #UrbanClimate #ClimateChange #VectorBorneDiseases #PublicHealth #ICUC12 #ClimateAdaptation #UrbanResilience #ResearchCollaboration #AbstractSubmission 

🎉 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 Luuk den Ouden 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠! 🎓 On behalf of the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC), we would like to congratulate Luuk on earning his Master’s degree in Construction Management and Engineering and Civil Engineering. For his master’s thesis, Luuk conducted valuable research on improving the flood preparedness of hospitals in the Netherlands as part of our broader 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝟑 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭. 👉 Learn more about the Frontrunner 3 Project here: https://lnkd.in/eBt7aUpJ #Graduation #ResearchImpact #DisasterPreparedness #Congratulations #PDPC #Flood 

🌍 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐃𝐏𝐂’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐏𝐇 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐛𝐨𝐧 On November 12, the Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC) hosted a pre-conference workshop at the 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 in Lisbon. Experts from various countries tackled a simulated Avian Influenza outbreak in the fictional country of 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢, developing interdisciplinary recommendations for government action. This first international PDPC workshop at EPH Conference highlighted a key lesson learned from past Dutch sessions: practicing interdisciplinary collaboration in simulations is essential for effective crisis response. It builds mutual understanding, values diverse expertise, and strengthens preparedness. We’re proud to have facilitated this global exchange and look forward to advancing these discussions worldwide. 🌟 🔗 Read the full workshop summary here: https://lnkd.in/einjq97U #PublicHealth #CrisisPreparedness #InterdisciplinaryCollaboration #EPHConference #Simulation #AvianInfluenza #InternationalWorkshop Tomris Cesuroglu Bart Blokland Jeannette de Boer

🌍 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐟, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 Our Medical Director, Dr. Anja Schreijer, is featured in the new podcast of The School for Moral Ambition. 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify via this link: https://lnkd.in/e24J2tbX A big thank you to Anna Gimbrere, Brendan Hadden and The School for Moral Ambition-team for the opportunity to share this story. #PublicHealth #PandemicPreparedness #Podcast #MoreleAmbitie #SchoolforMoralAmbition 

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐦 Last week, on behalf of Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness Center (PDPC), Charlotte Waltz presented on ‘integrated advice for pandemic policies’ at the ESCAIDE conference organized by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In this presentation, we shared our lessons learned from two Avian Influenza simulation exercises where scientists with diverse backgrounds came together to craft interdisciplinary advice. Overall, it was great to see so much attention given to social and behavioural sciences, with the launch of ECDC’s Lighthouse community, panels featuring sociologists, and a session specifically on communication and community engagement. All of this with the backdrop of snowy Stockholm ❄️ 😊 We look forward to continuing many of the inspiring conversations that were started. 💬✨ You can read more about the simulation exercises and the ongoing research here: https://lnkd.in/epSgRgpQ #ESCAIDE2024 #ECDCLighthouse #ECDC #PDPC #IntegratedAdvice #Preparedness  

🌍  𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞? 🦟 How do scientists with different expertise work together to study the future of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease? Find out tonight 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐏𝐎𝟐 in the program 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 where researchers from our Frontrunner 1 project work together on this critical public one health issue. This episode features our Scientific Director, Marion Koopmans, and our researchers Sander Koenraadt, Maarten Schrama, Charlotte Linthout and Jordy van der Beek.  Together they showcase the importance of a One Health approach - integrating human, animal, and environmental health perspectives – to better understand and control mosquito-borne diseases.     🎬 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟎.𝟓𝟓 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐏𝐎𝟐 and already watch the trailer of the episode below.  🔗 Learn more on our Frontrunner 1 project here: https://lnkd.in/eKsdSuD9  #mosquitoes #preparedness #PDPC #outbreaks #mosquitobornedisease #Infectiousdisease #onehealth  Leiden University Medical Center Radboudumc Wageningen University & Research Universiteit Utrecht NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) Avans Hogeschool Erasmus MC Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie (NIOO-KNAW) KNMI - Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut Sanquin Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (NVWA) Deltares UMC Utrecht OneHealthPACT Netherlands Centre for One Health (NCOH) Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu Rode Kruis Nederland Stichting Technasium Sovon Vogelonderzoek Nederland GGD Rotterdam-Rijnmond NPO