The Alumni Meetings come to La Rioja to talk about Global Health
More than fifty alumni from different sectors gathered last Friday, March 7, in Logroño, in the third stop of the Alumni Meetings of this year 2025.
On this occasion, attendees were able to enjoy a conversation between the Full Professor of Microbiology and director of the Science Museum of the University of Navarra, Ignacio López Goñi ( BIO'85 | PhD'89) and the dean of the School of Health Sciences of the University of La Rioja, Patricia Pérez Matute ( BQM'00 | PhD'05).
Under the degree scroll "Global health: the new strategy to face the environmental threat", the speakers discussed the challenges posed by global health and the new strategy to face these threats and protect the health of the next generations.
Why do new infectious diseases emerge, what is the relationship between the environment and health, can influenza cause a pandemic again, what is the truth about the much talked-about antibiotic resistance? These and other questions were raised at the Logroño meeting . Both experts showed how the health of people and the planet are linked. Humans, animals and the environment are interconnected. This is called One Health or Global Health. "The One Health vision means being vigilant, being ahead of the curve in order to be able to provide the means," said López Goñi.
"Microorganisms evolve at high speed. In addition, there are more and more of us, we live closer together and we move around a lot, which means that the spread of diseases is different from what it was a long time ago," said López Goñi. According to the expert, to all this, it should be added that humans also live very close to animals, which means that "75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are of animal origin".
The meeting also presented the project of the Bioma Center of the university, a new space that was created as a meeting place for people and institutions that together seek answers and solutions to the most urgent problems, from the passion for science and nature. It seeks to promote multidisciplinary and applied research through the Biodiversity and Environment Institute, teaching knowledge dissemination and transmission of the passion for science through the Science Museum.
The Alumni meeting ended with a cocktail party where the attendees, as well as the members of the Alumni territorial board in La Rioja, were able to continue talking and sharing ideas and proposals for future meetings.
