Front Page

Welcome

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live”
Albert Einstein

Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that the international conference „THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL CHANGE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH“ will be hosted in Košice, Slovakia  on June 13-16, 2023. The event aims to provide a platform for discussion about research that contributes to the sharing of new theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge, and to better understanding of global changes. This conference will provide opportunities for scientists, scholars, and students from universities to exchange new ideas and experience face to face, establish research relations, and find global partners for future collaboration. The conference is jointly organised by the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice (Slovakia) and Nord University, Bodø (Norway).
Please share the information on the conference with your colleagues, students, and anyone else who may be interested in participating.
We are looking forward to welcoming you in Košice!

Martin Tomko
Vice-Rector for Education and Conference Guarantor
University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice

     

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe

Together for good ideas

Supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants
If you want to know more about programmes and projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk or www.norwaygrants.sk

About IGC 2023

Conference Topics

• Impact of global change on public and animal health – the One Health concept
• Impact of global and climate change on the environment
• Impact of global and climate change on water resources and air

Scientific and Organising Guarantee

Martin Tomko, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Slovakia
Mette Sørensen, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Bodø, Norway

Collaborating Organisations

University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Slovakia
Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Bodø, Norway
State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic
Institute of Postgraduate Education of Veterinary Surgeons, Slovakia
European Food Safety Authority – National Focal Point in Slovakia

Official Language

The official languages of the conference are English, Slovak, Czech (simultaneous interpretation)

Programme

Scientific Programme

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Friday, June 16, 2023

Social Programme

Welcome reception: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 18:00
Gala dinner: Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 18:00
Guided tour of Košice: Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 15:30
Tour in Tokaj wine region with lunch: Friday, June 16, 2023, departure from UVMP in Košice at 9:00.

There are no charges for the social programme except for the tour in Tokaj wine region (€ 50).

Keynote Speakers

prof. Bc. Ing. Tomáš Bakalár, PhD. Ing-Paed IGIP

Tomáš Bakalár is Professor in Extraction and Processing of Earth Resources at Technical University of Košice, Slovakia, Faculty of Mining, Ecology, Process Control and Geotechnologies. He is an expert and scientist in the field of water and wastewater treatment, restoration and rehabilitation of contaminated environment, desalination, processes for removal of heavy metals from the environment with many years of experience.

Dr. Richard Franka

Dr. Franka is a Team Lead for Pakistan team within Polio Eradication Branch, Global immunization Division, at CDC HQ in Atlanta. His team of approx. 120 epidemiologists and data analysts coordinates polio eradication and childhood immunization activities in Pakistan. Dr. Franka has served in multiple positions starting as researcher in vaccine development, diagnostician, microbiologist, epidemiologist and later in leadership roles such as Head of the Immunology, Pathogenesis and Animal Studies Unit, Rabies Team Lead (acting) and Director of the OIE Reference Laboratory for Rabies within Poxvirus and Rabies Branch of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. In 2014, Dr. Franka assisted with the fight against Ebola as a part of the contact tracing team in Guinea and in 2015 as President of the United States Dashboard Lead Manager for Ebola within the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center. From 2018 to 2021, Dr Franka served as a Team lead for Nigeria Polio Eradication Team. He has co-authored more than 70 publications and 4 book chapters on such topics as: polio eradication, phylogeny of lyssaviruses, pathogenesis of lyssaviruses, laboratory diagnostics of rabies, host immune responses, experimental evaluation of various biological compounds for rabies prophylaxis and treatment, detection of various pathogens in bats in Africa as well as multiple epidemiologic investigations nationally and internationally.

Dr. Prabhat Khanal, Associate Professor

Dr. Prabhat Khanal is an expert in nutritional physiology, metabolic phenotyping, nutritional programming, use of animal models for human research, alternative nutrition strategies, livestock and environmental health. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, investigating the fetal programming impacts of early life nutrition on health and metabolism in offspring in a sheep model. Dr. Khanal is the coordinator for an international project aiming to establish a circular economy within the livestock sector via education and research (CEER) at Nord University in collaboration with partner universities in Nepal. He also leads a research group evaluating the role of novel feeding resources for sustainable livestock production.

Prof. David Modrý, DVM, PhD

Professor David Modrý is a veterinary parasitologist and full professor of infectious diseases at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University in Brno and in Dept. of Veterinary Sciences of the Czech University for Life Sciences in Prague. Since 2010, he has been a Director of Vétérinaires sans Frontières Czech Republic and a member of Board of Directors of VSF International. His main research topics include the transmission of infectious diseases at the livestock-wildlife-humans interface, parasites as part of biological invasions, the One Health, and Conservation Medicine. Professor Modrý’s recent publications address emerging infection by Angiostrongylus cantonensis, tick-borne and other vector-borne infections in wild and domestic carnivores and herbivores, protozoan and helminth parasites of primates and man, emerging parasitoses, parasites of reptiles and other wildlife. His ongoing projects include a citizen participatory approach in tick mapping and a large-scale project on parasites of beef cattle and anthelminthic resistance.

Assoc. Prof. Pavel Novák, DVM, CSc.

Pavel Novák is a researcher at the Institute of Animal Science in Prague and an independent specialist in animal hygiene, welfare and biosecurity. He participates in zoohygienic audits on livestock farms in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and other countries, and in the animal welfare assessment according to the European Protocol. He is a member of the Czech Bioclimatological Society, ISAH and other organisations. He is the author or co-author of more than 260 papers, teaching material (including multimedia teaching texts), author or co-author of 11 monographs, more than 100 scientific research reports, author or co-author of 9 certified methodologies for agricultural practice. He prepares assessments and evaluations for projects submitted to national and international grant agencies. He is a recognized authority not only among the Czech breeding and professional community, but also internationally.

Professor Lucy J. Robertson

Professor Robertson is a parasitologist who has worked in both human and veterinary health. She currently leads the parasitology group at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, where the effort is divided between teaching (predominantly veterinary students and veterinary nurses), research, and diagnostics. The laboratory is the National Reference lab for parasites in water and in fresh produce, and also for parasitic diseases in bees. Current and recent research projects have focused on: epidemiology, transmission, detection, and diagnosis of foodborne and waterborne parasites in different environments; anthelminthic resistance in parasites of production animals in Norway; interplay (both in vivo and in vitro) between parasites and hosts, and parasites and other pathogens (viruses) in the same host; parasites of bees and how they are affected by land use and climate variables. Professor Robertson is currently a member of the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group, where her major goal is to ensure that the parasites are less neglected than usual.

RNDr. Eva Sitášová, PhD

Dr. Eva Sitášová is a Slovak botanist whose research career is closely associated with the Museum of Eastern Slovakia in Košice. She has conducted a number of botanical surveys covering regional territorial systems of ecological stability, botanical inventories, mapping of Natura 2000 habitats, grass ecosystems, and invasive plant species, and monitoring of biota (flora). She has been involved in a project on evaluation of mines as new biocenological space for vegetation and studied the imapact of mining activities in the Slanské Hills on the vegetation of spoil tips.

Professor Piotr Tryjanowski

Professor Tryjanowski is Professor of biological sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Poznań University of Life Sciences. He studied agricultural ecology, mathematical modelling, population ecology and then ecology, especially avian phenology. His work has almost always been dedicated to agricultural areas, and more recently also to aspects of urban ecology. He cooperated as a scientific expert for a Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published papers with international teams in top scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Communications, Global Ecology and Biogeography. He launched a project called ”Data not Dogma”, looking for evidence for effective nature conservation. In addition to biological sciences, his publications and activities also cover sociology, psychology and economics. His work is well cited in scientific journals and handbooks dealing with agriculture, animal behaviour, ecology, and climate and discussed in mass media (including BBC, New Scientists). Currently, he is also Hans Fisher Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Germany.

Dr. Gabriel Varga

Dr. Gabriel VARGA received his degree from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Kosice, Slovak Republic in early 1980’s. Serving at the University for two decades as a clinician, teacher and Head of Rectors office, he developed several international projects for the University with most of them still in place. Early 2000 Dr Varga was elected as a President of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), where he focused on global educational projects and currently he is leading the Foundation of the WSAVA to support the veterinary profession. His focus on emerging markets continues also in his current role of Regional Director for Africa at Zoetis International. Dr Varga developed several projects in cooperation with governments, research institutions as well as with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Professor Bjørnar Ytrehus

Professor Bjørnar Ytrehus is a veterinary pathologist and specialist in wildlife population health (Dipl. ECZM) with long experience in wildlife disease diagnostics and surveillance. A common thread through his work is how anthropogenic changes affect the health and welfare of wild animals, especially wild cervids in the Nordic environment. Dr. Ytrehus focuses on the interplay between multiple factors, i.e. the interplay between infectious diseases, their vectors, the state of the animals and environmental factors. Dr. Ytrehus has worked with ticks and tick-borne diseases, deer ked in moose, pneumonia in muskoxen and is currently working with chronic wasting disease and parasite spillover in reindeer.

Important Dates

Accepted posters and lectures (except plenary lectures)

Registration and Fees

Conference fees

* Keynote speakers and honorary guests are exempt from paying registration fees.
** Students must provide proof of student status (ISIC card or similar) to the conference staff upon their arrival at the conference venue.

Payment details

Account holder
University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice
Komenského 73
041 81 Košice
Slovakia

Bank Štátna pokladnica
Radlinského 32
810 05 Bratislava 15
Slovakia

Bank account number: 70 0007 2225/8180
IBAN: SK42 8180 0000 0070 0007 2225
SWIFT: SPSRSKBA
Variable symbol: 6378

Please, indicate YOUR NAME in Details of Payment (or Information for Beneficiary)!
Please provide proof of payment to the conference staff upon your arrival at the conference venue if you made a bank transfer after June 5, 2023
Once your payment has been processed, please e-mail a copy of your payment remittance to daniela.takacova@uvlf.sk

Committees

Scientific and Organising Guarantee

Martin Tomko, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Slovakia
Mette Sørensen, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Bodø, Norway

International Scientific Committee and Honorary Members

Organising Committee

Venue

Institute of Postgraduate Education of Veterinary Surgeons
Cesta pod Hradovou 13/A, 041 77 Košice, Slovakia
+421 55 796 91 11
ivvl@ivvl.sk
Reservation: recepcia@ivvl.sk

Travel and Accommodation

How to get to Košice

Arriving by plane:
If you want to fly to Košice, you can choose the city’s own international airport – Košice International Airport (approximately 8 km from the city centre). The airport and the city centre are connected by regular shuttle buses.

Arriving by car:
From Bratislava – highway E571/E58, direction Košice, Slovakia (403 km)
From Krakow – highway DK75, direction Košice, Slovakia (245 km)
From Budapest – highway M3, direction Košice, Slovakia (256 km)

Accommodation

Contact Us

Conference Secretariat

Daniela Takáčová
Address
University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice
Komenského 73
041 81 Košice, Slovakia
+421 915 984 608
daniela.takacova@uvlf.sk
https://igc.uvlf.sk

Acknowledgements

Supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants.

The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA and Norway Grants amount to €2.8 billion. The priorities for this period are:
#1 Innovation, Research, Education and Competitiveness
#2 Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction
#3 Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy
#4 Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights
#5 Justice and Home Affairs

Eligibility for the Grants mirror the criteria set for the EU Cohesion Fund aimed at member countries where the Gross National Income (GNI) per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average.

The EEA and Norway Grants scheme consists of two financial mechanisms. The EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, whose contributions are based on their GDP. Norway Grants are financed solely by Norway.

If you want to know more about the programmes and projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk or www.norwaygrants.sk.