Since early 2020, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading quickly through over 100 countries around the world, and millions of people have been infected as of May 2020. The outbreak of the pandemic has brought relentless challenges to human health and it is still raging. To cope with the crisis, many countries have taken urgent measures to safeguard the people, while researchers in a variety of scientific areas have been engaged in finding a solution.

At the invitation of Committee on Data of the International Science Council (CODATA) issued in 1987, “The National Committee for CODATA, Academia Sinica, Taipei, R. O. C. (NCCODATA/AST)”, or CODATA-Taiwan, was established in March 1989 in Academia Sinica. The Committee members include members of major scholarly societies in Taiwan. Data Science has been the main research theme for COTATA-Taiwan. During these trying times while the pandemic is still severe, we hope to bring together academic research capability related to COVID-19 from both at home and abroad to contribute our share to the global village.

The Symposium consists of four sessions: (1) Overview: Clinical Spectrum and Geographical Variability, (2) SARS-CoV-2: Variants and Mutations, Protein Structure, (3) Therapies: Anti-viral, Vaccines and (4) Impact on Society. Through live stream, researchers and experts as well as frontline medical professionals in different parts of the world are invited to share their research data and invaluable insights.

This event will be conducted in English and consists of both live and virtual parts. Registration is required, but is open to all, free-of-charge. The entire conference is accessible on line to those registered, but we encourage those residing in Taiwan to attend the event in person. Seats are plentiful but limited, so we recommend early registration.