Welcome to the ESWI Airborne series Shaping the Future of Respiratory Virus Research

Our guests in this fascinating episode are early career scientists active in opposite ends of the infection spectrum – one scientist is a virus hunter, tracking viruses in urban environments, while the other investigates how viruses invade and attack our most vital organ, the brain. Together they reveal the hidden connections between environmental surveillance and neurological consequence.

They explore and discuss the importance of surveillance and pathogenesis and why preparedness depends on both. We learn about neurovirulence and the different ways viruses can enter and damage the brain. Questions pondered include why neurological damage is overlooked in the human population and whether our cities are blind spots for emerging zoonotic diseases.

Niko Joel Halwe, Postdoctoral Researcher in virology Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness, at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

Lisa Bauer, Assistant Professor in neuroscience and virology at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Welcome to ESWI Airborne: Shaping the Future of Respiratory Virus Research. In this episode, we speak with two outstanding researchers whose work is shaping the future of influenza and respiratory virus science. This conversation forms part of our three-part series on life as a scientist.

Our guests are two recent ESWI Conference prize winners:

Dr Kevin Ciminski, recipient of the Claude Hannoun Prize for Best Body of Work.

He leads an independent research group at the Institute of Virology, University Medical Center Freiburg in Germany, where he studies virus–host interactions of emerging zoonotic influenza viruses.

Dr Marios Koutsakos, awarded the Young Scientist Vaccine Innovation Award.

He is a Group Leader at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, Australia, focusing on influenza B viruses, immune imprinting, and developing broader and more durable influenza vaccine strategies.

Together, they explore what it means to build a scientific career, define a niche, establish a laboratory and contribute to an international research community. They reflect on the pivotal moments that drew them into virology, the balance between specialised research and big-picture questions, and the skills that have mattered most in their professional growth. They also share lessons learned from mentors and consider where early career scientists can make the greatest impact in the decade ahead.

Tune in to this extraordinary conversation exploring the important interplay between respiratory viruses and non-communicable diseases like diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Why do people with chronic conditions face higher risks from infections? Could there be such a thing as "long-flu"? What are the long-term effects of viral infections? And why are viruses so tricky?

Join our three leading scientists as they unpack the bidirectional connection, clarify this unique opportunity to leverage awareness and the fundamental importance of joining forces across disciplines: Marco Goeijenbier(ESWI Board Member, intensivist at Spaarne Gasthuis and Senior Scientist at Erasmus MC), Tor Biering-Sørensen (cardiologist and Founding Head of the Center for Translational Cardiology in Copenhagen), and Kirsty Short (NHMRC research fellow, University of Queensland).

They will explain this pivotal moment to rethink disease prevention, reveal insights from the groundbreaking giga DANFLU trial, and show how the Interdisciplinary Disease Collaboration on Respiratory Infections and NCDs (IDC) is connecting the dots from lab bench to hospital bedside.