The COVID-19 pandemic has made people behave differently. Suddenly, it was necessary to adhere to special distance and hygiene rules, to wear mouth-and-nose protection and to deal with insecurity, limited freedom of movement, and further restrictions and challenges in daily life.

More than one year after the outbreak, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) organize this virtual panel to scientifically discuss how health-related human behavior has changed during the pandemic, which behavior will outlast this period, and to what extent health-related behavior might change after governmental restrictions have ended. This takes place with consideration of efforts by public and private actors to guide human behavior. The invited speakers are from Brazil, Germany, Uruguay, and the United States, and they will discuss this topic in an interdisciplinary manner. Represented disciplines are the following: cognitive science, health sciences, social sciences, and economics. The audience is very welcome to interact with the experts and to ask questions.

ABC and Leopoldina welcome the following experts:
•    Prof. Margareth Dalcolmo, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
•    Prof. Fernando Filgueira, Uruguay-Office of the United Nations Population Fund, Montevideo, Uruguay
•    Prof. Ralph Hertwig ML, Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
•    Prof. Katherine L. Milkman, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Moderation: Vivian Upmann, freelance journalist

This panel discussion is part of the Leopoldina International Virtual Panel Series.

In July 2020, the Leopoldina launched a virtual format for global scientific exchange: Leopoldina International – a series of online panels organized by Leopoldina’s International Relations Department in cooperation with its international partners. Leopoldina International offers a virtual room for the global scientific community to convene and for the interested public to join the dialogue with scientists. Previous topics have been “Challenges in COVID-19 Vaccination”, “COVID-19 and Multimorbidity: How to Deal with Multiple Infectious Diseases in Parallel?”, “The Hidden Crisis: Mental Health in Times of COVID-19” and “Contact Tracing Apps: Promising Tool in the Fight Against COVID-19?”.

ML = Member of Leopoldina