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First VIVACE Doctoral Network Training Event – Rabat, Morocco

We’ve just kicked off the first 7-day training event for our VIVACE doctoral network, hosted at the Institut agronomique et vétérinaire Hassan II in Rabat, and perfectly organised by Siham Fellahi and Oumaima Kadiri. 

It is a pleasure to see all our #PhD candidates—coming from a wide range of countries and disciplines—connect, collaborate, and start growing into a cohesive community. These early-career researchers are part of the next generation who will, we hope, help shape better strategies for managing the risks posed by avian #influenza viruses #HPAI. 

While supervisors are now heading home, the doctoral candidates will stay on for several more days to complete the scientific training session, “Avian influenza: from viruses in poultry to humans in policy.” And beyond the science, this week offered a rich cultural experience that beautifully complemented our Day 1 soft-skills session on “Navigating a multicultural and interdisciplinary habitat”, a session nicely conceived and chaired by Katarzyna Szymanska. 

The doctoral candidates: Teodora P., Nicolás Urdaneta, Sarah Pletts, Ina Li, Déesse Tabet, Oumaima Kadiri, sinda srairi, Laura BOURGOIS, Mohamed Elsayes, Jessica Yazbek, Dr. Yanshi ., Solomon Ajoseh With Mariette Ducatez, Timothée Vergne, Romain Volmer, Iris Angeles De Cesare, Lydia Brunault, Simon Dellicour, Steven Van Borm, Gerdien van Schaik, Egil A.J. Fischer🟥, Claire Guinat, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Armin Elbers, Gwenaelle Dauphin, Rabeh Elshesheny, Isabella Monne, Jaap Sok, Jonathan Rushton, Henk Hogeveen, Claudia Trombetta, Johanna Wong, Wilma Steeneveld, Siham Fellahi

Welcoming our first VIVACE Doctoral Candidate!

Say hello to Sarah Pletts who joined the network in May 2025 in Toulouse under the supervision of Timothée Vergne from Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse and Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas from Wageningen University & Research.
Her PhD “Optimizing poultry vaccination strategies against highly pathogenic avian influenza to support policy”, will extend and calibrate #HPAI transmission models to assess #vaccination impacts on transmission, surveillance, and biosecurity, with a clear goal: reduce disease impact while using #vaccines efficiently.
Check out our website (https://www.linkedin.com/company/vivace-eu) and Bluesky account (@vivaceeu.bsky.social) for more!

Currently, all our PhD positions are closed, but if you click here you can find the topics that are being studied!

On January 9th, our team met in Paris for the project's official kick-off meeting. It was an exciting start, bringing everyone together to share ideas, set goals, and plan the next steps. This meeting laid the groundwork for what promises to be an inspiring journey ahead!