"Scientists Have Control & Can Decide Where to Share Data": Colin J Carlson on The Pathogen Access & Benefits Sharing Mechanism [THE FILES INTERVIEW]

Newsletter Edition #103 [Treaty Talks]

Hi,

While Global Health can do with more scientists who are mindful of the underlying politics of the field, luckily there are quite a few.

Today we bring you a timely and insightful interview with Colin J Carlson at Yale University, a leading global health expert, who among other areas also works on the legal, political, and scientific determinants of outbreak reporting and scientific data sharing.

In this conversation, Carlson debunks what Open Science is, and what it isn’t, and reminds us about the role of science in society. Rich with detail and examples, he breaks down the essential elements of a Pathogen Access & Benefits Sharing System, now being discussed at World Health Organization.

A highly recommended read not only for negotiators grappling with these issues, but anyone else concerned on how information on pathogens is shared, stored, accessed, and what this means for those who share such information.

We hope you like this interview.

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Until later.

Best,

Priti

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Illustration Credit: Amy Clarke, Chembe Collaborative

I. THE FILES INTERVIEW

"Scientists Have Control & Can Decide Where to Share Data": Colin J Carlson

By Priti Patnaik

Yukta N and Parth Chandna contributed to the production of this interview.

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The discussions on the Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing Mechanism reached a feverish pitch this week when a range of experts from the pharma industry, civil society organizations and other practitioners, weighed down on what is possible, and what is doable in the context of a new Pandemic Agreement. The day long proceedings threw up a bewildering range of issues from definitions, principles, governance and accountability, among others. (We will follow up with a larger story on this in the coming days.)

Late one evening recently, Colin J Carlson, a data scientist at Yale, spoke to Geneva Health Files, in a detailed conversation laying out the philosophy of open science; the responsibility of scientists; on databases in the biological information space; and the imperative that governments must address the commercial determinants of health including the access to countermeasures.

Carlson, an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Yale University School of Public Health, explains that issues of traceability, a point of contention in ongoing debates at WHO, are solved engineering problems, and cautions against conflating accountability with the questions of traceability.

His work deals with how climate change increases risks from both infectious diseases of poverty and pandemic threats, and while also examining the legal, political, and scientific determinants of scientific data sharing.

We are deeply grateful for his time, and for sharing his insights at this important juncture of the negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement.

Have a listen, or read the interview as we get into the heart of the discussions on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing.

Image Credit: Photo by Adonyi Gábor, Pexels