Graduate School of health and Medical Sciences

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PhD Supervisor Talk by Marc van Ranst: Staying alive: lessons from COVID's communication frontlines
Provider: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Activity no.: 3993-25-00-04	There are 96 available seats
	Enrollment deadline: 17/11/2025

Date and time	25.11.2025, at: 15:30 - 17:00
Regular seats	96

Contact person	PhD administration SUND E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment Handling/Course Organiser	PhD administration SUND E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment guidelines This Talk is for PhD supervisors at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Other faculty members are also welcome. PhD Supervisor Talk: Staying alive: lessons from COVID's communication frontlines During global emergencies, scientific experts face challenges in public health communication. Drawing from his experiences as a virologist and government advisor during the 2009 H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics, Marc Van Ranst will analyze the complex interplay between scientific accuracy, public messaging, disinformation and political pressures in crisis communication. The talk addresses the unintended consequences of high-profile science communication, including escalating threats against experts. maintaining consistency across communication channels, managing uncertainty in rapidly evolving understanding, balancing transparency with safety concerns, and the need for protective protocols for scientists in public discourse. About the speaker Born June 20, 1965, in Bornem, Belgium, Van Ranst obtained his medical degree from KU Leuven in 1990, worked at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York (1990-1993), and received his PhD in virology in 1994. He became professor of virology, specializing in the molecular evolution of viruses. He has published over 450 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. He was the crisis manager for the Belgian government during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and was part of the outbreak management team during the covid crisis. Since 2014 he is the head of the department of laboratory medicine at the University Hospitals Leuven. From 2012 to 2020, he served two terms as Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of KU Leuven. Professor Van Ranst received the Career Award for Science Communication 2020 from the Royal Flemish Academy of Medicine in Belgium. He has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates from the University of Kalmar, Sweden (2005), VU Amsterdam (2022), Leiden University (2023), and Radboud University (2023). He writes a biweekly column for 'De Morgen' and authored the bestselling children's book "Monsterlijke Microben" (Monstrous Microbes), which was translated into six languages. In February 2025, he published 'Virologica: Wetenschap tussen waarheid, welzijn en waanzin' (Science between truth, welfare and madness), a personalized account of the COVID crisis. In his free time, he is a digital artist who has exhibited his works in various galleries in Belgium. Moderator • Rikke Buhl, is head of the Graduate School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Science. She is professor in large animal cardiology and her research interest is within atrial fibrillation, translational perspectives and animal models. She has been PhD coordinator for many years at the Faculty, and has supervised numerous PhD students, postdocs and master students. Time and date: Tuesday 25 November 2025, 15:30-17:00. Registration: Please register no later than 17 November 2025. Venue: Panum, Blegdamsvej 3b, 2200 Copenhagen N, 1.st floor, building 8, Room: Lundsgaard Auditorium Organizer: Mia Dabelsteen, mia.dabelsteen@adm.ku.dk, senior consultant, The Graduate School.

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