About the Workshop

Our Mission

The Rodent-Borne Zoonotic Disease (RBZD) Workshop was established to outline a comparative and synthetic approach to understanding and mitigating rodent-borne zoonoses.

We bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars working on spillover theory and disease systems such as hantavirus, mpox, and Lassa fever. By cross-fertilising ideas across different disciplines, ecosystems, and disease models, we aim to:

• Develop and refine a distinct framework for rodent-borne zoonotic spillover.
• Examine the influence of human activity, land-use change, and climate on rodent evolution and disease ecology.
• Foster an ongoing collaborative research network to generate a cohesive agenda for disease control and primary spillover prevention.

History and Evolution

The workshop series was founded to address a critical gap in zoonotic disease research: the tendency to focus on reactive biomedical interventions rather than the proactive, ecological management of reservoir hosts.

Since the inaugural meeting, the workshop has grown into a mobile, international forum, allowing participants to compare rodent–human–environment systems across diverse contexts, from African agro-ecosystems to the European Alps and the subarctic tundra.

• 2023: State College, PA, USA (Inaugural Meeting & Consensus Framework)
• 2024: Oslo, Norway
• 2025: Paneveggio, Italy
• 2026: Kilpisjärvi, Finland

Organising Committees

The workshop relies on a rotating, international organising committee to ensure diverse geographical and disciplinary representation.

Inaugural Organising Committee (RBZD1 - Penn State, CIDD): * Dr. Sagan Friant (Anthropology) * Christina Harden (Ecology) * Prof. Ottar Bjørnstad (Biology/Entomology) * Kareen Atekem (Ecology)

(For current and past local organising committees, please refer to the individual workshop pages in the navigation menu).