Bernadett Varga is a freelance public health professional, former Scientific Collaborator of the Brussels-based Université Catholique de Louvain and co-author of a Springer publication titled Access to Primary Care and Preventative Health Services of Migrants (2018). She started her early career as a health advocate, holds a BSc degree in Communications from the University of Szeged, Hungary, studied Medicine at the Semmelweis University before earning her MSc degree in European Public Health at the University of Maastricht and holds a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School – Executive Education. She is an expert on EU public health policies, has worked for the Council of Europe, has collaborated with the World Health Organization and the United Nations OHCHR on formulating health policy recommendations targeting vulnerable groups. Her research focuses on health disparities in Europe as well as on the access to healthcare services for disadvantaged groups, such as the Roma and migrant populations. Bernadett resides in Brussels, Belgium.
Contributor: Bernadett M. Varga
Interview with Dr. Ed Pertwee: vaccine hesitancy and lessons learnt
Rumors, conspiracy theories and misinformation during a health crisis: "The problem seems to be informational reliance on social media, not social media usage per se," says expert Dr. Ed Pertwee. With possible new Covid-19 waves in the back of our mind and in order to save lives, understanding communication during a health emergency is critically ...
Massimo Florio: could a ‘European Medicines Infrastructure’ solve market failures in pharmaceutical R&D?
Interview with Massimo Florio (Professor of Public Economics, University of Milan, Italy) about a new European approach to pharmaceutical policy. In response to the Covid-19 crisis, the European Union has increased its commitment to the EU public health agenda. It has strengthened the mandate of both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre ...
Prof. Wayne Koff : ‘AI can help us design better, safer and faster vaccines’
Wayne Koff, PhD, is the founding president and Chief Executive Officer of the Human Vaccines Project. Human Vaccines Project Prior to joining the Project, from 1999 to 2016, Koff served as Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in New York City, leading IAVI’s ...
A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Prof. András Falus about SARS-CoV-2 mutations
András Falus was born in 1947 in Budapest, Hungary and is a professor emeritus of Budapest’s Semmelweis University and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His primary field of study is immunogenomics, allergy and onco-genomics. Most recently, his research has focused on histamine-related immunoregulation, non-coding DNA (e.g. microRNA) and microvesicles, a newly recognised ...
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Dr Deepti Gurdasani about SARS-CoV-2 mutations
Dr Deepti Gurdasani ’s background is as a clinical epidemiologist and statistical geneticist. After completing her clinical training in internal medicine at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, she completed her MPhil in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Cambridge in 2010, followed by a PhD examining genetic factors associated with disease in genetically diverse ...
SARS-CoV-2: the challenges of mutation and possible strategies
The efficacy of the current COVID-19 vaccines might be lower against the new variants of SARS-CoV-2. The new strain that emerged in the United Kingdom has a higher transmissibility than previous strains of the virus. We asked scientists whether the new mutations are a threat to the current public health measures and to COVID-19 vaccines.
A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Professor Johan Neyts about COVID-19 vaccines
Johan Neyts is full professor of virology at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He teaches virology at the medical school and at the school of dentistry. His lab is deeply involved in the development of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2. A second focus of the lab is the development of novel vaccine technologies. To that end, the ...
A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Professor Earl Brown about COVID-19 vaccines
Professor Earl Brown is specialized in virology and microbiology. His main activities are on viral genetics and evolution, mainly directed at understanding how viruses cause disease (pathogenesis) or become adapted to new hosts; and the mechanism used by influenza virus to control the antiviral interferon response. He has experience with several viruses, including hepatitis C, ...
