News

Celebrating Two New ECVPH Diplomates and a New PhD Graduate at the VPH Institute

We are delighted to congratulate two members of the VPH Institute, Laura da Silva and Giulia Savioli, on successfully passing the board examinations of the European College of Veterinary Public Health (ECVPH), subspecialty Population Medicine, and thereby successfully completing the ECVPH Residency. This important milestone reflects their dedication, expertise, and commitment to advancing veterinary public health.

Laura da Silva
Giulia Savioli

Special congratulations go to Laura da Silva, who has also recently successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled: “Towards “Zero by 30”: Investigation into free-roaming dogs’ ecology and its application for improved rabies control strategies”

We warmly congratulate Laura and Giulia on these outstanding achievements and wish them every success in the next stage of their careers!

VPH Institute Members Contribute to Newly Approved EU COST Actions

We warmly congratulate our colleagues at the VPH Institute who are involved in four EU COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Actions approved in May 2026. Their participation reflects the institute's continued commitment to advancing collaborative, interdisciplinary research addressing major One Health challenges.

Our colleagues are involved in the following COST Actions:

  • Laura da Silva, former ECVPH Resident and former PhD student, is a participant in COST Action CA25159 – From Data to Decision in Transforming Agrifood Systems: Operationalizing One Health through AI (Agrifood-OneAI). Action CA25159 - COST
  • Luís Pedro Gomes do Carmo, Senior Research Assistant, serves as one of the Swiss members of the Management Committee for COST Action CA25122 – Systems Thinking for One Health Implementation (SystOHm). Action CA25122 - COST
  • Ioannis Magouras, Group Leader, serves as one of the Swiss members of the Management Committee for COST Action CA25142 – One Health European Network for Leptospirosis and Rodent-Borne Threats (ONE-LEP). Action CA25142 - COST
  • Alice Diana, ECVPH Resident, serves as one of the Swiss members of the Management Committee for COST Action CA25113 – European Veterinary Education and Training for Professional Advancement, Specialisation, and Skills (VET-PASS). Action CA25113 - COST

All four COST Actions will run from 2026 to 2030, fostering international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and research excellence across Europe. We congratulate our colleagues on this achievement and look forward to the valuable scientific contributions and collaborations that will emerge from these initiatives.

SVEPM Conference

The SVEPM conference, which took place in London (UK) from 25 to 27 March 2026, was a great success for the participants from the VPHI Institute. We warmly congratulate everyone on their outstanding achievements!

 

Luís Pedro Gomes do Carmo, Senior Research Assistant, has taken over the SVEPM presidency for the upcoming year after serving as Junior Vice-President for 2024–2025.

Giulia Savioli, an ECVPH resident and PhD student, presented her project on Risk Mapping of West Nile Virus at this year’s SVEPM conference and was awarded the prize for Best Junior Oral Presentation. In the picture, she is accompanied by Sue Tongue from SRUC and Fernanda Dórea from SVA and FAO.

Catarina Fernandes, a former Master’s student at the institute, received a bursary award for her participation in the conference, where she presented her ESBL poster titled: “Is rat species’ ecology important for AMR?”