A panel of experts will discuss what impact the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns have had on society and consider what the future might look like in an upcoming University of Dundee public talk.
In the online event ‘Escaping to a post-Covid world’, a group of University experts from clinical and respiratory medicine to public health, as well as education and social work, will explore the challenges brought by the pandemic and its restrictions and consider how these may shape the future.
The talk is the last event in this year’s Saturday Series. It takes place on Saturday 17 April.
As vaccination rates increase, the world is beginning to think about what a post-Covid future might look like. The panel of professionals spanning medical and social sciences will consider what we might hope for as we emerge at the other side, discussing both negative and positive impacts of Covid-19 and lockdown.
The School of Medicine’s Professor James Chalmers, one of the UK’s leading lung experts, will join University colleagues on the panel. Over the past year, he and his team have treated hundreds of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 and undertaken some major research initiatives, from finding treatments to conducting clinical trials.
He said, “We will be dealing with the consequences of the pandemic long after the virus is controlled. Covid-19 has highlighted some of the major problems in our society, from obesity to smoking and health inequalities.
“However, it has also highlighted some of our major strengths. There has been incredible innovation during the Covid-19 pandemic, with acceleration of digital technologies, better ways of delivering healthcare and developments in vaccines and treatments that could be applied to many common diseases.
“We all have a stake in the post-Covid future and we all get to play a part in building it. That starts with a broad conversation about where we are going and what we want the future to look like. Hopefully that’s the conversation we will start at this event.”
Professor Chalmers will be joined by the University’s Dr Ellie Hothersall, Dr Duncan Mercieca, Dr Daniela Mercieca and Dr Robin Sen on the panel. Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland’s former Political Correspondent, will chair the event.
Dr Hothersall is a specialist in Public Health based within the School of Medicine. She is also the Programme Director for the MBChB degree.
Drs Duncan and Daniela Mercieca are both lecturers within the School of Education & Social Work. They were part of a team who carried out research in relation to learning and teaching during lockdown in Scotland.
Dr Sen is a lecturer within the School of Education & Social Work. His background is within child and family social work as well as community development.
‘Escaping to a post-Covid world’ will be held online on Saturday 17 April at 6pm. Free tickets can be booked via Eventbrite.
