Thea is Director of the Department of Clinical Research at Nordsjællands Hospital and Professor of Public Health, Viral Infections and Epidemics at the University of Copenhagen. Her expertise spans public health, virology, epidemic preparedness, and research leadership, with a primary focus on the burden, prevention, and control of viral infections and epidemics. Professor Fischer has a clinical background in infectious diseases and is a specialist in preventive medicine. She received advanced training in epidemic intelligence, response, and preparedness through the prestigious Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With more than 25 years of international experience, she has led and collaborated on interdisciplinary research initiatives aimed at strengthening epidemic prevention and control worldwide. She is co-founder of the European Network of Non-Polio Enteroviruses (ENPEN), established in 2017 to advance surveillance, research, and clinical management of enterovirus infections across Europe. Previously, she served as Director of Denmark’s WHO National Influenza Centre and the WHO National Reference Laboratories at Statens Serum Institut. Professor Fischer currently serves as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Helmholtz One Health Centre in Greifswald, Germany, and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health in Braunschweig, Germany. She is recently appointed as Chair of the WHO Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). In 2020, she was selected as one of ten international experts to support the World Health Organization’s investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 in China.Prof Fischer’s viral research interests include common viruses such as influenza, RSV, enteroviruses, poliovirus, and parechovirus. and tracing of epidemic and/or pandemic origins. She is a (co)-author of >300 peer-reviewed papers & reviews. H-index=63 https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=e8Hv9JUAAAAJ&hl=en