LinkTADs Workshops on Laboratory issues

The fight against animal diseases relies heavily on the research community developing new intervention/control tools and strategies. International collaboration between researchers can speed  up these advances by bringing together new ideas, technologies, funds and expertise to solve livestock health challenges. However, there are also many barriers that challenge joint projects. LinkTADs aims to aid in the coordination and facilitation.

To facilitate this dissemination of knowledge and create a forum for the discussion and exchanges of ideas, LinkTADs has organized a 3-day event covering some of the most  relevant issues concerning veterinary laboratory sciences. The event will take place on 12-14 October at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) facilities in Vienna, Austria.

The first session on New Diagnostic Technologies (12 Oct) will cover some of the latest diagnostic technologies being developed and used, e.g. molecular platforms, high throughput technologies, next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, field applications, etc. There will be opportunity to discuss in an open forum the impact these new technologies may have on future laboratory functions and on animal disease surveillance.

The second session on Coordination of Research (13 Oct) will aim to describe the main research initiatives in the EU, China and across the globe. An open forum will provide the opportunity to discuss how the EU and China could work together on a research agenda and collaborate on how to fund research, including the pathogens/approaches, as well as networking, research gaps,  lessons learned, and improvement targets.

The third session on Veterinary Laboratory Systems and Policy (14 Oct) will aim to describe and discuss the way veterinary laboratory systems are organized and how policy gets developed and implemented across the different functional levels in the EU, China and internationally. A general discussion session will allow participants to explore and develop opportunities for the coordination of laboratory systems.