![]() ![]() “The dream product, which would resemble something like a smoke detector but would detect pathogens, could be used in locations such as airports, schools, or any crowded areas. His groundbreaking work is centered around the creation of a fully automated electronic sensor for the surveillance and tracing of airborne viruses in real-time, which could play a crucial role in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases. This year’s recipient of the €500,000 Future Insight Prize is Khalid Salaita, Professor of Chemistry at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). In 2023, we now return again to the area of pandemic preparedness, after allocating the 2020 prize to multidrug resistance, in 2021 to technologies to secure the nutrition of a growing world population – and in 2022, to reducing CO2 in the air. Later that same year, the devastating COVID-19 pandemic started. In July 2019, we awarded the prize to visionary researchers developing “ pandemic protectors” – to safeguard humanity against future global diseases. Pandemic preparedness was announced as the first focus area for the prize during the Curious2018 Future Insight Conference. Alongside this prestigious annual prize, we provide a of up to €1 million to support the advancement of cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to transform visionary concepts into tangible realities. Since its establishment in 2019, we’ve been honoring exceptional scientists with the Future Insight Prize, recognizing groundbreaking work with the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges in health, nutrition, and energy. It is precisely due to these complexities that we selected this work with the potential to help establish a global pandemic early warning system, for our 2023 Future Insight Prize. Such a system would enable the early detection of infectious agents with pandemic potential, allowing for the prompt implementation of effective measures to impede the further spread of infection.īut creating a robust early alert system for pandemics presents a multitude of challenges. ![]() Nowadays, an emerging infectious disease can spread rapidly across the globe, facilitated by international air travel - underscoring the urgency to establish a global pathogen surveillance and monitoring system. Biohacking and bioterrorism scenarios are further increasing the threat. And the rise in urbanization, globalization, and ecological factors - such as climate change, deforestation, and increased contact between humans and animals - has further increased the likelihood of future outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. Over the centuries, infectious diseases such as cholera, plague, and influenza have previously ravaged human civilizations. However, COVID-19 is not an isolated event but part of a recurring pattern of pandemics throughout history. As of July 2023, the global tally stood at over 768 million confirmed cases and more than 6.9 million deaths. Beyond the devastating loss of lives, the pandemic disrupted economies and pushed many public health systems to the brink of collapse. By the time the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic, COVID-19 had already reached numerous countries, with about 130,000 confirmed cases and nearly 5,000 deaths. Originating from a novel coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the disease spread rapidly around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed the significant shortcomings in the world’s capabilities to rapidly detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases before they can escalate and reap havoc. ![]()
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