With infectious diseases continuing to pose a growing global health challenge, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has brought together leading researchers, clinicians, public health experts, policymakers and industry representatives from 20 countries for the MAHE Nature Conference.
Inaugurated in Manipal, Karnataka, on October 14, the three-day conference is titled “Meeting the Challenge of Infectious Diseases in a Changing World.”
Hosted by MAHE, an Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University, in partnership with Nature Medicine, Nature Microbiology, Nature Health and Nature Communications, the conference will conclude on October 16.
The gathering aims to accelerate scientific exchange and strengthen international collaboration on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, with a sharp focus on emerging and re-emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), pandemic preparedness, disease surveillance, diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccination strategies and the One Health approach.
Addressing the inaugural session, MAHE Vice Chancellor Sharath K. Rao underscored the urgent need for stronger global health security, warning that infectious diseases transcend national borders and demand coordinated international action.
“Human beings have become increasingly adept at crossing borders, but pathogens have become even more adept. They do not need passports or visas, reminding us that infectious diseases are a global challenge that transcends geographical and disciplinary boundaries.
"The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that health security is inseparable from human security and underscored the need for stronger surveillance, preparedness, and equitable access to healthcare,” he emphasised.
Rao stressed that tackling infectious diseases requires expertise extending well beyond conventional medical research. He highlighted the importance of collaboration across medicine, pharmacy, engineering, data science, behavioural sciences and public health policy, while emphasising the role of universities in building interdisciplinary partnerships that translate scientific discoveries into tangible public health outcomes.
Jessica Thompson, Senior Editor at Nature Microbiology, welcomed participants on behalf of the Nature editorial team and outlined the scientific discussions scheduled for the conference.
The programme features expert-led sessions exploring how scientific evidence can be translated into effective disease surveillance and public health action. Key areas include surveillance modelling and outbreak forecasting, the design of surveillance systems, One Health digital platforms, network structure and multimodality, data-driven decision-making, population genomics, translational intelligence and the Indian landscape of antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
