Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID)

MCID is back at Nacht der Forschung 🎉 on Sat 6 Sept 2025!
Fun for all ages: 🎨 Face painting + “Make Your Own Pathogen” | 🎯 Klatsch die Bakterie | 🖼️ Interactive posters | 🦠 Pandemic Control Centre | 🕷️ BEready – take “a close look at ticks”! ⚖️Ethical dilemmas

Come say hi!
#ndfunibern
@unibe.ch

Oropouche virus activity in the Americas mimics last year as UK notes its first case

Officials have confirmed five Oropouche virus-related deaths this year, all in Brazil.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/c...

BEready have published their latest newsletter today “BEinformed”.

Sign up on their website to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox.

www.beready.unibe.ch/about/newsle...

Or check out their blog

www.beready.unibe.ch/about/blog/i...

@bereadycohort.bsky.social
@unibe.ch

Dealing with conspiracy theories: debunking works During the pandemic, Bern-based researchers conducted real-time analyses to determine how the media can most effectively curb conspiracy theories. A workshop for journalists brought together the world...

The MCID funded a study by the IKMB @unibe.ch to track how conspiracies start, spread & the role of the media to stop them. Journalists and Researchers discussed findings and raised new questions in a May workshop.

Read the UniAktuell article here:

bit.ly/3Hy7V6m

#MCID #Research #Journalism

Huge congrats to all the lead applicants (Lucy Hathaway, Britta Lundström-Stadelmann, Philippe Plattet, Rachel Cassidy, @svenrottenberg.bsky.social, Simone Schuller, Cornelia Staehelin, Ronald Dijkman) and their Research Teams, we’re looking forward to seeing where your work leads!

🚀 Exciting news! We’ve just funded 8 innovative projects through the 2024 MCID funding call 🎉

For more information check out our webpage

bit.ly/3UO7Y0Y

@unibe.ch

New review from MCID co-chair Carmen and @labfaso.bsky.social team on annexins, a protein family doing vital but often underappreciated work in cells.

Membrane repair, calcium transport, and a look beyond mammals and plants.
Well worth a read 👇

📖 bit.ly/46Ij3Ii

#Annexins #MCID #CellBio @unibe.ch

Vetsuisse Faculty turned 125, and MCID was in the middle of the action at the Vetsuisse Open House!

Posters, games, quizzes, face paint & cuddly microbes and don't forget “Splat the Bacteria”! 💥

Massive thanks to our volunteer crew 💛

See you next at Nacht der Forschung

bit.ly/4lHUbVO

@unibe.ch

🎉 Big shoutout to our MCID Bern-funded PhD students who shone at the 20th GCB Symposium @unibe.ch!

They wowed us with posters, talks & flash presentations, showcasing not just cutting-edge science but passion & dedication to their research

👏 Congrats to all! Keep up the good work!

Monkeypox virus spreads from cell-to-cell and leads to neuronal death in human neural organoids - Nature Communications The mechanisms underlying neurological complications of monkeypox virus infection remain unclear. Here, the authors investigate its neurotropic potential and show that neuritic transport of viral part...

🎉 Congrats to MCID-funded PhD student Isabel Schultz-Pernice & Marco P. Alves on their new Nature Communications paper!

🧠 Their work reveals how monkeypox spreads in the brain & opens doors for new therapies.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@mcid-unibe.bsky.social
@unibe.ch

Great to see the new publication from the MCID's co-lead @profvolkerthiel.bsky.social is out. His team has been working for a number of years developing a live attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. They present the next steps demonstrating the efficacy, safety and stability of their candidate vaccine.

Issue #10 of The SPREAD is hot off the press! 📰✨

This one’s got bite (🦟) — from dodging tick bites, to Giardia’s sneaky protein secrets, plus a spotlight on more of our brilliant MCID PhD students 🎓

Dive in here 👉 shorturl.at/XrYw1

@unibe.ch #MCID #TheSPREAD #Ticks #Giardia #InfectiousDisease

Congrats on another great publication!

@mcid-unibe.bsky.social and IVI welcomed the Swiss Klub für Wissenschaftsjournalismus. @profvolkerthiel.bsky.social kicked off with an intro to the MCID, followed by the @bereadycohort.bsky.social study, an IVI spotlight, and rounded off with a lively Q&A session. #ScienceJournalism @unibe.ch

At the MCID, we're working to close the gap between research and real-world policy.

That’s why we support the SNSF Politics for Researchers course—helping researchers build the skills to engage with policymakers and drive impact.

📢 A few spots left—join now!

#PolicyImpact #ResearchToPolicy #MCID

BEready study team at BernExpo until 4. May, Halle 7, Stand A004

Heute hat sich das 750. Haushalt in die #BEreadyKohortenstudie angemeldet.

Auf halbem Weg zu unserem Ziel von 1500 Haushalten.

Besuchen Sie uns bis am 4. Mai an der #BernExpo Halle 7, Stand A004 und erfahren Sie mehr.

@bereadycohort.bsky.social

bea-messe.ch/de/exhibitor...

Outreach matters — and we’re proud to be sharing the One Health message at the BEA Fair! @bereadycohort.bsky.social & CAS One Health represented @unibe.ch during the “Focus for Health” day on Saturday. Still time to pass by and say hi!
#OneHealth #BEA #CommunityEngagement

AI/ML is transforming rare disease diagnosis—but ethics must keep pace. This new Code of Ethical Practice (CoEP) offers crucial guidance on responsible data sharing in AI/ML. Ethics and innovation can go hand-in-hand.
#AIethics #RareDiseases #ML #DataSharing

It's fantastic to see MCID members and their teams actively sharing their research at the European Congress of Virology—extra credit for embracing sustainable travel!

A first step forward in building a global solution for pandemic preparedness was agreed on yesterday. When we’re aligned and ready to work together, we’re already in a better position. Better research, diagnostics, and smarter preparedness tools can only stand us in good stead for future challenges.

Bacterial and viral pathogens dominate public health discussions, but fungal infections also pose a threat. The latest WHO report highlights critical gaps in diagnostics and therapeutics—and the urgent need for innovation in mycology-focused R&D. #InfectiousDiseases #FungalInfections #GlobalHealth

The impact of Coronavirus Nsp1 on host mRNA degradation is independent of its role in translation inhibition Bäumlin et al. investigate the roles of coronavirus Nsp1 in translation inhibition and mRNA degradation using a human cell-free translation system. They demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 mediates mRNA ...

Our latest research on #Coronavirus Nsp1 found its home (and a new name) at @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports... Thankful to the first (dream) team of my lab and funding for making this happen. @nccr-rna-disease.bsky.social @mcid-unibe.bsky.social @unibe.ch

The Swiss Global Change Day, organised by ProClim, will take place in Bern on 9 April 2025. It will feature different keynotes, as well as a Science Talk titled “Climate Litigation: The Case of the Senior Women for Climate Protection and Beyond” featuring Charlotte Blattner, Ana Vicedo Cabrera and Sonia Seneviratne.

The 25th Swiss Global Change Day #SGCD25 will take place on April 9! 🌎 Apart from interesting keynotes, there will also be a Science Talk on Climate Litigation with @charlotteblattner.bsky.social, @anavicedo9.bsky.social & @soniaseneviratne.bsky.social. Register now: proclim.ch/id/92NZ5

The @mcid-unibe.bsky.social releases a quarterly newsletter, #TheSPREAD, and issue 9 is now out:
tinyurl.com/4jt69eyb

Do check out articles on:
- Wesselsbron Virus transmission
- Organs-on-chip technology
- Scientific policy advising during Covid-19

@unibern.bsky.social @ispm.unibe.ch

Great, thank you for putting this #starterpack together!

Fever of unknown origin. More likely to be known diseases in poor and poorly nourished populations.

Needs investigating, but will be harder than before…

“The outbreaks were detected as the Trump administration put a freeze on foreign aid during a 90-day review.”

Steps to prevent and respond to an H5N1 epidemic in the USA - Nature Medicine Steps should be taken now to prevent an epidemic of H5N1 in humans and prepare for an outbreak should it occur.

A Comment article in Nature Medicine describes the steps that should be taken now to prevent an epidemic of H5N1 avian flu in humans and to prepare for an outbreak should it occur. 🧪

Find out more about us here: www.mcid.unibe.ch and via our newsletter: tinyurl.com/fjp5urud (issue 9 out next week).

We're new here, so let us introduce ourselves...
The MCID is a @unibern.bsky.social strategic center dedicated to the study and mitigation of risks from infectious diseases- from a multidisciplinary perspective.
The MCID is generously supported by the #StiftungVinetum.