Two leading institutions join GloPID-R

The Wellcome Trust and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) joined the GloPID-R network of research funding organizations this past week. The addition of these two organizations makes the network 18 members strong representing 15 different countries.

Dr. Line Matthiessen, Chair of GloPID-R and head of the unit ‘Fighting Infectious Diseases and Advancing Public Health’, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, said:  “GloPID-R is committed to connecting research funding organizations across the world. With the recent additions of the Wellcome Trust and AAS to our network, we broaden our global reach and improve our ability to rapidly respond to a significant outbreak.”

The Wellcome Trust’s Director, Professor Jeremy Farrar, will be representing the global charitable foundation in the GloPID-R membership and Dr. Philip Green, Head of Director’s Office/Head of Board Management and Coordination, will be a significant contributing member.

Dr. Green said: “The Wellcome Trust is pleased to join GloPID-R, which provides an opportunity to exchange information with other international research funding organizations. Working together, we can target our funding on innovative research solutions to epidemics.”

Representing the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) will be its Executive Director, Professor Berhanu Abegaz.

Professor Abegaz, who has been a vigorous researcher in the field of natural products chemistry for over 30 years, said: “Viruses spread rapidly without regard to borders or countries and we certainly have learned key lessons from the last Ebola epidemic. We must, therefore, work together during this inter-epidemic period, to deal more effectively during the next one. It’s with this collaborative spirit in mind that the African Academy of Sciences is pleased to join the GloPID-R network.”

GloPID-R welcomes the additional members helping us to better coordinate the infectious disease research initiatives already underway and those that are planned in the future.

About the African Academy of Sciences

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a pan-African organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, that recognizes individuals who have reached the highest level of excellence in their field of expertise and have made contributions to the advancement of the field in the continent. These individuals are recognized on merit and designated as Fellows of the Academy.

About the Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health. They provide more than £700 million a year to support bright minds in science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public engagement and the application of research to medicine.