The Wildlife Ecology, Zoonoses & GIS Research Team of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly is composed of scientists of several specialties, mainly members of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology. The head of the working group is professor CharalambosBillinis, who is a member of the European College of Zoological Medicine in the discipline of wildlife population health. The main research interests of the team are the study of diseases of wild fauna species and the establishment and implementation of large-scale surveillance studies on emerging and re-emerging diseases. Moreover, the team studies the potential interactions among wild and domestic animal species during the spread of diverse infectious agents, as well as the zoonotic aspects of wildlife diseases. The study of vector-borne diseases is another priority of the working group.
In a molecular perspective, the team conducts molecular typing of wildlife infectious pathogens, investigating the existence of polymorphismsormutationsthat confer resistanceto a specificanimaldiseases. In addition, the team carries out genomic and metagenomic studies, in order to clarify the population density in endangered species of animals and collect data for their habitats.
Further, the working group combinespecializedapplicationsstatistics and spatialanalysis, modeling / modeling-sharingpreventionofdiseases and zoonoseswiththehelpof GIS (Geographic informationsystems), surveying geospatial data and building geographic databases, Geospatial Data Management and analysis.
Finally, thelaboratoryhas an extensive experience and specialization in environmental issues. The Research Team isactivelyengaged in thecollection, analysis, and interpretationofecologicaldatapertainingtowildlifespecies and from 2008 participate in wildlife and habitatprotectionprograms.
1st Painting Workshop, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, School of Fine Arts, University of Western Macedonia (EETF)/Visual March to Prespa
The 1st Painting Workshop of EETF is part of the Department curriculum and aims in the exploration of the visual language of painting in the extended field of the contemporary artistic framework. A significant aspect of that approach is the study of the landscape and its various components (such as cultural, social, ecological, historical). The main venue for the exploration of the above is the process Visual March to Prespa (https://visualmarch.eetf.uowm.gr/ )that explores artistically the area of Western Macedonia since 2007. The Head of the working group is the artist Yannis Ziogas (Associate Professor, EETF). Visual March to Prespa has initiated activities in the area with the participation of students, artists, academics, scientists, and people from the local communities. The outcomes of Visual March to Prespa that is the contribution in the understanding of the various parameters of the area, the development (cultural and financial), and the introduction of the students in the way locality can attain a global dimension. Since 2007 several exhibitions, activities and conferences were organized related to the above issues.
The most recent event organized from Visual March to Prespa was the International Encounters/Conference Walking Practices/Walking Art/Waking Bodies (July 2019) when more than two hundred participants from twenty-five countries presented projects and papers for a week in Prespa (http://icowaf.eetf.uowm.gr/).
