written on 20.01.2021

The University of Bern creates a multidisciplinary center to study the emergence of infectious diseases

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With the foundation of the Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity, the University of Bern will be able to study the societal, economic and healthcare impact of infectious diseases.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated to the world population, governments and the scientific community how fragile and dependent our societies are in the era of globalization and how epidemics and pandemics involving infectious pathogens can endanger our existence.

“The current crisis is a striking example of how interdisciplinarity must be integrated into the work of the scientific community in order to analyze problems and find solutions that are relevant to society as a whole,” explains Christian Leumann, Rector of the University of Bern. “This is why the University of Bern, thanks to the generous support of the Vinetum Foundation, has founded a much-needed research center to study future epidemics and pandemics in an interdisciplinary manner in order to better respond to them. »

Internationally recognized and outstanding research on the pandemic has already been conducted in the canton of Bern in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, economics, political science, psychology and the humanities. The Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity (MCIDI) will benefit from all the expertise of the University of Bern and will be financed by the Vinetum Foundation for 10 years in the amount of CHF 30 million.

The MCIDI is organized as a virtual center and therefore does not require any infrastructure to be built. This system has already proved its worth for other interdisciplinary research centers such as the Oeschger Center for Climate Research at the University of Bern.