The 4th Annual Conference of the TAU Center for Combating Pandemics
The conference was held on May 28, 2025, at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History.
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Tel Aviv University Center for Combating Pandemics,
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, the Center held its Fourth Annual Conference at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. Approximately 100 participants registered for this year's gathering. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed to the success of the event - the speakers, session chairs, participants, and those who supported the logistical and administrative efforts leading up to and during the conference.
In his opening remarks, the Center's Head, Prof. Itai Benhar, announced that the Center, in its current format, will soon conclude its activities, making this the final conference under its present structure. Over the years, the annual conference has been a key event in the Center's operations, reflecting the University's ongoing commitment - as well as that of its researchers and students - to the field of pandemic preparedness and response.
As in previous years, this year's conference focused on global shifts in the field. With the expected decline in activity directly related to COVID-19 and in light of budgetary constraints, the Center has transitioned from concentrating on immediate solutions for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19, to addressing the lessons learned and promoting preparedness for future pandemics.
The conference opened with a keynote lecture by Prof. Dorit Nitzan, Head of the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University. Prof. Nitzan has held senior leadership positions in the Israeli Ministry of Health, including Head of the Department of Food and Nutrition Services in 2002. She has been actively involved with the humanitarian organization Physicians for Human Rights, advising and supporting humanitarian efforts for Ethiopia and the Middle East in collaboration with the World Food Programme. She has also served as a consultant on nutrition, food safety, public health, and emergency response in China, Moldova, and the Russian Federation. Over the years, she led health-related disaster preparedness and response missions across Africa, Asia, and South America, and participated in the 2004 tsunami search-and-rescue coordination in Thailand. Throughout her career, she has combined fieldwork with academic research and teaching at various universities.
Prof. Nitzan served as Director of Public Health Services in Southeast Europe and WHO Representative to Serbia until 2012. She was then appointed WHO Representative to Ukraine, a role she held until 2016. In her most recent position at the World Health Organization, she led the WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response Division for the European Region, covering 53 countries, including Israel. Today, she heads the Emergency Management Program and the Center for Food Systems, One Health, and Resilience at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University.
Her keynote lecture at this year's conference was titled: "Advanced Degrees in Emergency Management: The View from Ben-Gurion University."
In her talk, Prof. Nitzan showcased how a dynamic and interdisciplinary graduate program can serve as a model for training ethical, effective, and adaptable leaders in the field of emergency management - leaders capable of bridging systems, sectors, and communities in times of crisis.
The program continued with three thematic sessions. In two of them, researchers from the Center presented biological, medical, sociological, and economic aspects of pandemics and pandemic-potential pathogens. The variety of talks underscored the Center’s commitment to multidisciplinary approaches. The final session featured presentations by doctoral students who had received fellowships from the Center, highlighting their research projects.
Video recordings of the lectures are now available on the conference page. Interested visitors are welcome to view the recorded sessions. Please note that several speakers presented unpublished findings and requested that their talks not be recorded or shared; accordingly, these presentations are not available online.
Sincerely,
Prof. Itai Benhar
Head of the Center
On behalf of the Center for Combating Pandemics, Tel Aviv University
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