Experts will advise on epidemiology and infection biology research, design calls and support fellows, postdocs and PhDs. “The infection community in Sweden is quite strong internationally but this type of network for data-driven research has not existed until now” says group member and SciLifeLab Scientific Director Staffan Svärd.
Six members have been assigned to the Data Driven Epidemiology and Biology of Infection research area specific expert group, including Oliver Billker professor at Umeå University and Director of The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), who will have the coordinating role. Other members are Joakim Dillner, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital; Patrik Medstrand, Lund University; Birgitta Henriques-Normark, Karolinska Institutet; Erik Kristianssson, Chalmers University of Technology; and Staffan Svärd, SciLifeLab/Uppsala University.
“I hope we can develop something that will be useful for all Swedish researchers in infection epidemiology and infection biology. The infection community in Sweden is quite strong internationally but this type of network for data-driven research has not existed until now. This will add something extra to the community” says newly appointed group member Staffan Svärd, Scientific Director at SciLifeLab, who also leads the SciLifeLab capability laboratory preparedness for future pandemics.
SciLifeLab has recently launched a focus on capabilities. Capabilities aim to connect infrastructure platforms, technologies, and data-driven life science initiatives, focusing on specific themes and grand challenges. This is done together with the research community, with links to health care and industry. In this case, the laboratory preparedness for future pandemics capability and the Data Driven Epidemiology and biology of Infection research area specific expert group is concerned with similar themes.
“We will integrate these two efforts since they are overlapping and it will be an important role for me in the group to work for this integration. The expert group should feed good input into the capability in order to make it better and to anchor it in “reality” in the different fields represented by the expert group” says Staffan Svärd.
The members of the expert group, all leading scientists in their field, will advise on research area specific strategies and research profiles for the scientific programs of the SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS), suggest and co-organize activities and community events around epidemiology and infection biology, and take part in evaluations by providing advice on the design of calls and the evaluation process. They will also advise and support the DDLS fellows, post docs and PhDs as well as acting as a specific national reference group for data services and training.
Want to learn more? Join the DDLS Research area conference. There will be keynotes, special lectures and opportunities to meet and discuss with prominent researchers within the four DDLS research areas.