CLIMOS Talks
Welcome to CLIMOS talks, the podcast that will give you the perfect insight of what CLIMOS wants to achieve by the end of summer 2025. If you are a veterinarian, a pet owner or just have an interest and curiosity regarding public health and climate change, this podcast is for you!
A set of informal conversations that make known, in a simplified way, what CLIMOS is all about. CLIMOS wants to help predict and prepare for the spread of infectious diseases transmitted by sand flies. We will do this by helping people get ready socially, environmentally, and financially in Europe and nearby countries.
Hosted by Inês Melo e Faro.
Episodes
Episode 0 - Introduction
CLIMOS Talks simplifies the CLIMOS project, in the form of informal conversations between our host, Inês Melo e Faro, and a series of invited experts in the different areas of intervention of the project.
Episode 1 - CLIMOS Early Warning System mobile and web application by Nenad Gligoric
Nenad Gligoric comes directly from Serbia. With a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Belgrade, he started his career as a system engineer and today is co-founder of Zentrix Lab, a service development and consultancy company that is also very represented and successful in the research community. In CLIMOS, he will be co-leading development of the CLIMOS Early Warning System mobile and web application.
Episode 2 - Sand flies and their impact in public health by Gioia Bongiorno
Gioia Bongiorno comes from Italy. She is a distinguished researcher in the field of Medical Entomology. Currently holding a permanent position at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, she specialises in the study of sand flies. With a background in Biological Sciences and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Public Health, she has participated in extensive field studies to monitor sand fly dynamics, including seasonal patterns, species prevalence, and geographical distribution. In CLIMOS, she will have a crucial role the Sand fly trapping in Italy, as well as testing the projects monitoring forecasting system and tools in fields studies.
Episode 3 - The role of the pilots in the Early Warning System development by Suzana Blesic
Suzana Blesic comes from Serbia. She is an experienced researcher in Institute for Medical Research in Belgrade. Currently leading the physics of complex systems research, she is one of the brains behind CLIMOS. She has a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and has spent more than 10 years advocating for the rights of women, specifically in science. In CLIMOS, she is leading the data collection and sharing, data analysis and modelling, and will assist in preparations, development, and iterations of theCLIMOS Early Warning System.
Episode 4 - A survival story of leishmaniasis by Ellie Shtereva
Ellie Shtereva comes from Bulgaria. She is a protagonist in medical books because she was bitten by a sand fly and developed one of the rarest forms of leishmaniasis. After beating all the odds, she is here today to tell the story in the first person.
Episode 5 - The challenges and achievements of CLIMOS by Carla Maia
Carla Maia comes from Portugal. She has a Master’s degree in Medical Parasitology in Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical from Universidade NOVA Lisbon and completed her PhD at the same institution in Biomedical Sciences. She is a specialist in Veterinary Parasitology by the European Veterinary Parasitology College recognized by the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation since 2018. Currently holding a permanent position as an Assistant Researcher at Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, she has carried out studies on phleboviruses in humans, domestic animals, and sand flies, and in agents transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes with zoonotic or veterinary importance. In CLIMOS, she is the captain of the ship. She is responsible for all the coordination activities and for the sand fly trapping in Portugal.
Episode 6 - How can the collaboration between health and governmental institutions minimize the impact of Sand Fly-borne diseases?
Meet Oscar David Kirstein, PhD, an expert in Bio-medical Sciences specializing in Medical Entomology from Hebrew University. For the past four years, Dr. Kirstein has been affiliated with Emory University in Atlanta, USA, initially as a postdoctoral researcher and later advancing to a significant role as a researcher.
Currently serving as the Director of the Medical Entomology and Parasitology Laboratory of the Ministry of Health Israel, Dr. Kirstein plays a crucial role in sand fly collection in Israel and the development of the EWS to identify emergency hotspots.
Episode 7 - Farewell
