Dr. W. Ian Lipkin at the Beijing Center: The Virus in the Globalized World

 

June 13, 2018

On June 13, Dr. Walter Ian Lipkin gave a successful lecture at Columbia Global Centers | Beijing. Dr. Lipkin is the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and is internationally recognized as an authority on infection and immunity. Dr. Lipkin has a strong bond with China. In 2003, he helped China overcome the SARS outbreak. He also helped China build research centers for infection and immunity in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guangzhou.

Dr. Lipkin lectured on how epidemiologists deal with a new, threatening virus, using his study on MERS as an example. He talked about his mobile lab in Saudi Arabia, where he and his team found out how the virus transmits from bats to humans. With his knowledge of China's development in epidemiology, Dr. Lipkin highly praised China's achievements in infectious disease control and in international disease assistance.

Dr. Lipkin elaborated on his latest research findings, and he spoke on his belief that a global immune system would significantly contribute to the control of infectious diseases in a globalized world. At the end of his speech, Dr. Lipkin calls for both the government and the public to pay more attention to the research of new viruses and vaccines in the modern world.

Before his public speech, Dr. Lipkin was interviewed by Caixin Media, talking about the current virus threat faced by the globe, food safety issues, and virus transmission.