Announcement: Fondation Botnar appoints Prof. Marcel Tanner to its Board, 08/11/2018 – Basel, Switzerland.

Fondation Botnar is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Marcel Tanner, an epidemiologist and public health specialist, to its Board to be its expert on public health research with a focus on children, effective November 8, 2018.

Prof. Marcel Tanner was the Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) from 1997 until 2015 where he emphasised the importance of combining research, teaching and training with their translation into public health action, thereby covering the value chain from innovation to application. Until 2017 he was also Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Parasitology at the University of Basel and at the Federal Institute of Technology. Since 2016, Prof. Tanner has been the President of the Swiss Academy of Sciences.

“We are pleased to welcome Prof. Marcel Tanner, a champion of transdisciplinary research approaches, as a member of our Board,” says Dr. Peter Lenz, President of the Fondation Botnar Board. “Prof. Tanner’s experience with over 40 years in research and implementing public health initiatives in low- and middle-income countries will be invaluable as we seek to better understand the determinants and mechanisms of the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents in low-resource settings.”

“I am delighted to be joining the Fondation Botnar Board to work together to urgently address the research gaps and meet needs of children and young people in urban settings during a critical period of their development,” says Prof. Marcel Tanner. “Young people between the ages of 10 – 19 make up more than a quarter of the population in low- and middle-income countries, yet on average this age group receive less than 2% of all global health funding, and therefore I look forward to us together strengthening the research and development  agenda.”

Prof. Tanner’s research and global public health activities have ranged from basic research on the cell biology and immunology on malaria, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis and filariasis to epidemiological and public health research on risk assessment and health impact. For the past 30 years his work has also highlighted urbanisation, health service utilisation and decentralisation in health planning and resource allocation with extensive on-the-ground experience in Africa, Asia and Europe.

He has been and still is an expert advisor and member of various national and international boards and agencies, including WHO/STAC-TDR, Wellcome Trust, DNDi, FIND, INCLEN-Trust and INDEPTH Network.

Prof. Tanner obtained a PhD in medical biology from the University of Basel and an MPH from the University of London.

 

About Fondation Botnar:

Fondation Botnar is a Swiss foundation established in 2003 with the core purpose of improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people in growing secondary cities around the world. To achieve this, Fondation Botnar acts as a catalyst, connecting diverse partners and investing in solutions that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation.

Follow Fondation Botnar:

Twitter – www.twitter.com/fondationbotnar
Facebook – www.facebook.com/fondationbotnar
LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/fondationbotnar

Media contact for enquiries:

Kiara Barnes
Engagement and Communications Manager
Direct: +41 61 201 04 82
Mobile: +41 76 549 43 48
kbarnes@fondationbotnar.org