CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

The PrimateCast rolled out its mobile podcasting unit to cover the joint meetings of the International Primatological Society and American Society for Primatologists held between August 21-27, 2016. Last year's congress was hosted by the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes of Lincoln Park Zoo, and the conference was held at Navy Pier in Chicago, USA.

The PrimateCast On Location at IPS 2016 with Dr. Fabian Leendertz

As a practicing primate infectious disease ecologist myself, it was really great for me to get the chance to chat with Dr. Fabian Leendertz, who heads up the Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms Project Group at the Robert Koch Institut in Berlin. Dr. Leendertz was at IPS presenting his work on great ape respiratory diseases in a symposium titled "Advances in health research at the interface of humans and nonhuman primates", chaired by Dr. Dominic Travis.

Dr. Leendertz has been involved in some pretty high profile work examining the emergence and persistence of pathogens such as Ebola and Anthrax in wildlife, and what these and other infectious diseases mean for great ape health, population viability and conservation. In the interview, we discuss some of this work, what it's like going in to an Ebola zone shortly after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, what kills great apes in the forest, and what we know and still need to know about primate disease. Visit his research group here for more information on their activities. 

We'd like to sincerely thank Dr. Fabian Leendertz for joining us on this episode, as well as all of our guests on this series of podcasts from our coverage of the 26th Congress of the International Primatological Society and 39th Congress of the American Society of Primatologists. We look forward to Nairobi 2018. Be sure to check out our other podcasts featuring interviews with leading scientists in primatology and beyond.

Join us and all our friends at IPS/ASP on The PrimateCast, and visit our official webpage @ theprimatecast.com to find loads of content from primatologists and conservationists around the world. You can also visit (and Like/Follow) us on Facebook and Twitter and leave comments and feedback on this or any other podcast in the series. You can also follow our RSS feed, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes to keep up with the latest content.

Photo Credit: Fabian Leendertz / © TMF e.V.