Our fifth annual Virtual Symposium was held on 7 August 2025 with the theme Research Evidence for a Changing World.
More than 200 people watched the event online, with at least another 200 people attending in-person events in Papua New Guinea and around the world.
It featured keynote addresses from the Australian Ambassador for Global Health, Dr Lucas de Toca PSM, and the Associate Dean of Research at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at the Fiji National University, Dr Donald Wilson.
We talked about how climate change is impacting health in Papua New Guinea through changing transmission patterns for vector-borne diseases, a case study on a One Health approach to understanding Japanese encephalitis transmission in mosquitoes, humans and pigs, and the lived experiences of environmental change for people who live in rural communities near oil palm plantations.
Our symposium also included a session on how our COVID-19 seroprevalence study will help Papua New Guinea to prepare for future pandemics.
There was also a tribute to our former director, the late Emeritus Professor Michael Alpers, by our current director, Professor William Pomat, and staff who worked with Professor Alpers.
Professor William Pomat, Scientia Professor John Kaldor (Co-chair of the PNGIMR Buttressing Coalition) and Professor Sir Isi Kevau (Chair of the PNGIMR Council) both gave introductory remarks. There were also short spotlights by emerging researchers Dr Ian Umo and Rebecca Emori. Dr Gwendalyn Vengiau was the symposium’s host.
The 5th Virtual Symposium is supported by the Australian Government and the Buttressing Coalition.
