The Pandemic Sciences Centre, which will include a number of core institutes, will harness the strong global research collaborations that the University of Oxford has developed over more than forty years. Its mission will be to ensure that the world is better equipped to create global, and equitable science-driven solutions to prepare for, identify, and counter future pandemic threats.
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The new centre will also build on the strong and unique collaborations developed in record time across national borders between academia, industry and public health bodies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor:
The recent pandemic has demonstrated the unique contributions research universities like Oxford can make to pandemic preparedness. We are building on decades of medical research on infectious disease and data science, we have longstanding international partnerships and we have the ability to act and to adapt quickly. When aligned with industry and with public health bodies we can ensure that the world is never caught unprepared again.
Professor Peter Horby, the inaugural Director of the Pandemic Sciences Centre:
I’m immensely proud to be leading the new Pandemic Sciences Centre. The remarkable work of the Oxford academic community during the pandemic has delivered huge societal benefits and I see this development as a terrific opportunity for us to build on that contribution, and invest in our staff’s future.
As a University our response to the pandemic has been world-leading, but we know this has come at a cost and staff across the institution have had to make many sacrifices. This new centre will ensure that we continue to develop leading-edge science to mitigate pandemic threats whilst ensuring that the other equally important work of the University continues unabated.
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