UCSF: UCSF, Institut Pasteur Develop Center on Emerging Infectious Disease
Building on their successful research partnership during the pandemic, UC San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) and the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France) have signed a comprehensive agreement to establish the Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The agreement calls for the Institut Pasteur and UCSF to work together to train scientists, compete for sponsored research funding and attract philanthropy. Operations are planned to take place in San Francisco and Paris.
“I commend the researchers at UCSF and the Institut Pasteur, as well as other scientific partners across the globe for coming together at a crucial time in the pandemic,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “This highly collaborative initiative serves as an example of how team science can contribute in a global health crisis. We look forward to more collaborative work in the future.”
The President of the Institut Pasteur, Professor Stewart Cole, PhD, added: “The Institut Pasteur has a long history of combating global health crises, such as HIV/AIDS, Chikungunya and Zika, and the strong partnership established spontaneously with UCSF QBI in response to the Covid pandemic was exemplary in this regard. The long-term agreement signed today formalizes the partnership and will accelerate and intensify further collaborations.”
The mission for the Center will be multifaceted and coordinated around pandemic preparedness, prediction and treatment. The Center will strive towards:
An icon of an infection disease droplet with spiked proteins, similar to the coronavirus
Cooperation in the field of (re)emerging infectious diseases to create a worldwide impact on understanding, treatment and prevention.
Increased capacity and research capabilities of both partners in the field of emerging infectious disease through exchange programs.
Joint work on cohorts both internationally and domestically, for epidemiology studies and better prevention of infectious and neglected tropical diseases.
Deeper understanding of the impact of global warming on the (re)emergence of infectious and neglected diseases.
QBI Director Nevan Krogan, PhD, who is leading the partnership at UCSF, said, “The newly formed collaboration between UCSF QBI and Institut Pasteur serves as a prime example of two leading scientific institutions joining efforts and resources today in anticipation of future needs for infectious disease threats.”
Carla Saleh, PhD, co-scientific lead of the partnership and Professor and Principal Investigator, Viruses and RNA Unit, Department of Virology at the Institut Pasteur, added, “With global warming and an increase in infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness is more important now than ever. Our collaboration with QBI and QCRG during the COVID pandemic proved highly successful. We look forward to furthering our collaboration and bringing the unique strengths of each of our organizations to not only rapidly respond to global infectious disease challenges, but also focus our efforts on preemptively addressing issues that have potential to become a pandemic.”