No human exists as an island — an experience during COVID-19 consortium (a experience of 23 co-authors)

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic is the first pandemic I am going through though it is the third I have witnessed in my life so far the other two being MERS & SARS. Gautam brought together a small group of us initially to brainstorm the need for such a consortium, and then here we are with 23 collaborators spread across the continents, who contributed significantly to the discussions we had every Tuesday evening. The learning & sharing has been so useful in dealing with the pandemic which is what we have documented here as a publication. See at the end for the affiliations of this rich & diverse consortium.

This research discussion was executed from Acharya Institutes where I transitioned from the Director — Research & Management to the Campus Director in 2020

1. Gautam S Kalyatanda, 2. Lennox K Archibald, 2. Shraddha Patnala, 4. Maneesh Paul-Satyaseela, 5. Pretesh Rohan Kiran, 6. Sunitha Chandrasekhar Srinivas, 7. Anthony Byrne, 8. Chun-Yu Lin, 9. Venkat Narayan Chekuri, 10. Reuben Ramphal, 11. Anna Shifrin, 12. Shivanjali Shankaran, 13. Jonathan J Cho, 14. Andrew Abbott, 15. Matthew Edwards, 16. Daniel Urbine, 17. Daisy Lekharu, 18. Hala Mohamed Moussa, 19. Janice Limson, 21. Sharli Paphitis, 21. Roman Tandlich, 22. Diana Hornby, 23. Frederick Southwick
American Journal of Disaster Medicine. Summer 2020;15(3):219–222.
https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2020.0350

No human exists in isolation or as an island: The outcomes of a multidisciplinary, global, and context-specific COVID-19 consortium

A pandemic, by definition, involves the whole world being impacted by a common threat and calls for a united response. A highly virulent pathogen, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has affected every facet of modern life. The virus has revealed the world’s underlying inherent inequities, such as economic and food insecurity and availability of and access to a functional healthcare system, not to mention preparedness of nations to manage a coordinated pandemic response. For these reasons, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) represents an unprecedented challenge to economies, healthcare systems, and nations alike. The closing of international and internal borders, physical distancing, and the resulting decrease in travel and trade have led countries to become insular geographically, socially, and economically. Somewhat ironically, this necessitates an increased need for greater collaboration between countries and other stakeholders to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and better manage the global crisis upon us, so as to mitigate the long-term sequelae of this pandemic.

1. Gautam S. Kalyatanda, MD, Division of Infectious Disease and Global Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
2. Lennox K. Archibald, FRCP, PhD, Malcolm Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
3. Shraddha Patnala, BJ, School of Journalism, Rhodes University, South Africa.
4. Maneesh Paul-Satyaseela, MSc, PhD, Director, Research & Management, R&D Directorate, Acharya Institutes, Bangalore, India.
5. Pretesh Rohan Kiran, MBBS, MD, DGM, St Johns Medical College, Bangalore, India.
6. Sunitha Chandrasekhar Srinivas, MPharm, PhD, PGDHE, Rhodes University, South Africa.
7. Anthony Byrne, MBBS, IiPH, BAppSc, FRACP, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, St Vincent’s Clinic, University of New South Wales, Australia.
8. Chun-Yu Lin, MD, PhD, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan.
9. Venkat Narayan Chekuri, Joint Secretary, Karuna Trust, Bangalore, India.
10. Reuben Ramphal, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
11. Anna Shifrin, MD, Diagnostic Radiologist, Winchester Hospital, Winchester, Massachusetts.
12. Shivanjali Shankaran, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Disease, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
13. Jonathan J. Cho, MD, PhD, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
14. Andrew Abbott, MD, Division of Infectious Disease and Global Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
15. Matthew Edwards, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
16. Daniel Urbine, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
17. Daisy Lekharu, MBBS, MPH, MBA, Global Health Consultant, Geneva, Switzerland.
18. Hala Mohamed Moussa, MD, Pediatric Neurologist, Centre Hospitalier des Specialites, Nouakchott, Mauritania.
19. Janice Limson, PhD, Director and Professor, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, Rhodes University, South Africa.
20. Sharli Paphitis, PhD, Health Service and Population Research, King’s College, London; Rhodes University, South Africa.
21. Roman Tandlich, PhD, Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa; Faculty of Health Sciences, Technical University of Liberec, Liberec, Czech Republic.
22. Diana Hornby, BEd, MS, Director of Community Engagement, Rhodes University, South Africa.
23. Frederick Southwick, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. USA

Originally published at http://discover.ind.in on June 7, 2021.