MCID, hot off the press: Monkeypox virus causes neuronal death in neural organoids A recent study from the group of Dr Marco Alves, funded by the MCID, reveals insights into mechanisms underlying mpox-associated encephalitis.
MCID outreach at the Vetsuisse Open House Event On June 28th, the Vetsuisse Faculty opened its doors to the public. The MCID organised a range of activities from "splat the pathogen" to face painting and from a quiz to test visitors' infectious disease knowledge to a pathogen detective activity. MCID-funded research was also presented in posters and prizes were won.
MCID-funded research: 8 new projects awarded funding As a result of the MCID Research Project Funding Call in 2024 and following a large-scale peer review process of all applications, eight projects have been awarded funding and will begin by early 2026.
MCID-funded research in UniAktuell; Dealing with conspiracy theories: debunking works The University of Bern’s online magazine "UniAktuell" spotlights research from the Institute of Communication and Media Studies (IKMB), funded by the MCID. During the Covid-19 pandemic, IKMB researchers ran a real-time study tracking how conspiracy theories emerge, gain traction, and can be effectively countered by the media and organised a workshop in May 2025 bringing together journalists and researchers to turn these insights into practical strategies for stronger crisis communication.
MCID-funded PhD students at the GCB Symposium 2025 Eight PhD students supported by MCID-funded projects presented their research at the 2025 Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences Symposium
MCID, hot off the press: Impact of Coronavirus Nsp1 on host mRNA degradation is independent of its role in translation inhibition A recent publication from the team of Dr. Evangelos Karousis sheds light on how SARS-CoV-2 uses the viral protein Nsp1 to shut down host protein production, work conducted in the frame of his recent MCID-funded project.
BEready Cohort at BEA 2025 The BEready Cohort team took part in BEA 2025 with their activity "Ticks under the magnifying glass", enganging with the public on this key topic and taking the opportunity to present the BEready Cohort.
MCID in UniBE delegation: Africa-Europe 360° cooperation The MCID were part of UniBE's delegation at the event "Africa-Europe 360° cooperation" hosted by the Mission of Switzerland to the EU and co-organized by the Initiative Afrique, University of Bern and SwissCore. Carmen Faso, MCID Co-Chair presented the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence Genomics for Health in Africa, Co-Lead by the MCID.
MCID, hot off the press: direct transmission of Wesselbron virus in sheep A recent study from the group of Dr Obdulio García-Nicolás and Prof. Charaf Benarafa, funded by the MCID investigates transmission of Wesselbron virus in sheep and highlights the importance of studying neglected diseases.
MCID highlights 2024 2024 has been a busy and exciting year at the MCID. Here we show some highlights of the year: From top left, clockwise: * Carmen Faso, MCID Co-Chair, presents CoRE-Genomics for Health in Africa, Co-Lead by the MCID, at The Africa – Europe Clusters of Research Excellence Conference at Stellenbosch University * Lively discussions about the BEready Cohort at the MCID Annual Event 2024 * Jörg Jores and the Synthetic Genomics Platform team hard at work * Caroline Schlaufer, Policy Manager at the Ethics and Policy Lab, presents at the Symposium on the Revision of the Epidemics Act * Panel discussion on the role of science in policy-making at the MCID Annual Event 2024 * MCID-PhD students Isabelle Schultz-Pernice and (next photo) Jonas Steiner present their research at the GCB Sympoisum 2024 * The first MCID-PhD student, Matthias Licheri, defends his PhD thesis
