November 2022

The way forward for GloPID-R: path travelled and opportunities ahead

Barbara Kerstiens
GloPID-R Co-Chair

“If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that with collaboration, innovation and the equitable use of health technologies, we can overcome serious public health threats. It has also made clear the value of initiatives like GloPID-R, by coordinating global funders and activities to support critical research in addressing the pandemic. We must now apply the lessons learnt for our future work, further strengthening our collaboration and investing in health research.”

This year an important change is happening at GloPID-R, with Mérieux Foundation transferring its coordinator role to the Charité Center for Global Health in Berlin. The Mérieux Foundation has been crucial for the set up and the initiation of the work of GloPID-R, providing constant support and working to enhance the visibility of the project. I would like to use the opportunity to sincerely thank the Mérieux Foundation for their great engagement since 2014 to establish the GloPID-R Secretariat and provide the vehicle to build the inspiring network we have today. We welcome Charité into its new role of GloPID-R secretariat coordinator, for which it is very well placed as a leader in the international and global health space. With Charité, we hope to further enhance the effectiveness of the coalition as well as its ambitions. This change of the GloPID-R secretariat coordinator also marks the third consecutive funding cycle through which the European Commission supports the Secretariat since its establishment, to carry out their crucial work.

Successful CTN&F workshop in Annecy makes progress on GloPID-R Funders Roadmap

The Clinical Trial Networks and Funders (CTN&F) working group met at Les Pensières Center for Global Health from September 29 to 30, 2022. Counting online and remote participants, a total of 40 people took part in the meeting.

Strong turn-out and rich discussions at the GloPID-R General Assembly 2022

GloPID-R members, observers and invited guests met face to face in October at our annual General Assembly for the first time in three years. The event was generously hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the organizational and logistics support of the DLR Project Management Agency.

Regional Hub Update

The roll-out of our regional hub strategy continues to make steady progress. During our General Assembly in Berlin, the session devoted to developing the regional hubs included informative presentations and rich discussions.

GloPID-R’s response to outbreaks

In this summary, our Research and Policy team outline GloPID-R’s response to recent outbreaks.

Update on the new ‘Pandemic PACT’ Research Tracker

Pandemic PACT (Pandemic Preparedness: Analytical Capacity and Funding Tracking program), developed alongside our partner UKCDR, will be an agile and powerful resource for funders and the research community.

What’s new today with the COVID-19 Funded Research Project Tracker?

A recent blog post highlights what’s new, valuable and innovative about the COVID-19 Research Project Tracker developed by GloPID-R and the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR).

Who are we and what do we do? Watch our new motion design to find out

Take a look at this new GloPID-R communications tool to use, share and show.

Towards a coordinated approach to funding pandemic preparedness research in Africa: GloPID-R roundtable at Grand Challenges 2022

GloPID-R’s African Regional Hub featured prominently in the roundtable event held on October 24 during the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022 in Brussels, Belgium.

CEPIThe race to future-proof coronavirus vaccines

Learn about CEPI’s approach to developing next generation coronavirus vaccines in this article by Kate Kelland.

ANRS | Emerging Infectious DiseasesAn update on current projects

Learn the latest news on the BE READY project, ANRS | Emerging Infectious Diseases monitoring of the Monkeypox outbreak, and their Ebola outbreak crisis response.

CIHRCenter for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies

The new Center for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) has been established at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Read about the funding opportunities supported by the CRPPHE.

Pasteur NetworkStrengthening global disease surveillance

GloPID-R member Pasteur Network recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute.

IDRCUpdates from IDRC

The latest news on IDRC grants, their Monkeypox Rapid Research Reponse, and participation at the World Health Summit.

ESSENCE on Health ResearchCelebrating 70 years of protecting the world: combating influenza now and in the future

Listen to the latest episode in the Global Health Matters podcast series.

SAMRCFunders Forum to bring together health research funders in Africa from November 20 to 22, 2022

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has announced the next Sub-Saharan Funders Forum to be held November 20-22, 2022 in Somerset West near Cape Town.

CIHR / IRSCCanadian Post COVID-19 Condition Research Network

CIHR / IRSC has launched a funding opportunity as part of the Government of Canada’s continued response to address the health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on research associated with the long-term effects of COVID-19 infections on Canadians’ health and health systems.

ISIDOReISIDORe calls for proposal for free access to research services and resources: Monkeypox Virus and SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Integrated Services for Infectious Disease Outbreak Research (ISIDORe) provides free access to a unique portfolio of cutting-edge research services and resources to study epidemic-prone pathogens.

GloPID-R Asia-Pacific regional hub kick-off conference coming up November 9-10, 2022

A further step towards building the Asia-Pacific regional hub will be taken soon with the organization of the “Asia Pacific Infectious Disease Shield” kick-off conference in Jeju, South Korea on November 9 and 10, 2022.

National-level experiences of pathogen-related data sharing in pandemic times and beyond

Registration for this meeting organised by BY-COVID and to be held on Friday 25 November is now open. It will include presentations from CESSDA, SHARE ERIC, ReCoDID and the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.

Publication in BMC Medicine: GloPID-R scientists review what we know about cases of severe acute hepatitis in young children

In late July, researchers from the GloPID-R Scientific Secretariat published “Severe acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in children—what is known?” in BMC Medicine. This study examines recent cases of severe hepatitis of young children across 33 countries, in particular the UK, the United States, Japan and European countries.

Read the publication

Monkeypox clinical guidelines are lacking: publication of a study co-authored by GloPID-R scientists BMJ Global Health

A lack of clinical guidance on monkeypox may impact patient care and outcomes, according to a systematic review co-authored by researchers from the GloPID-R Scientific Secretariat. This study was led by ISARIC (International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium) and appeared in the open access journal BMJ Global Health on August 17, 2022.