MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis

The continued threat posed by emerging infectious diseases has been highlighted in recent years by the emergence of MERS-coronavirus in the Middle East, Ebola in West Africa and Zika in Latin America. Preparedness therefore remains a policy priority for public health agencies and governments worldwide. In addition, as new vaccines, drugs and other interventions are developed for endemic diseases such as malaria, HIV and TB, there is a need to extrapolate from clinical trial results to determine which combination of interventions gives the optimal (or most cost-effective) control strategy for a specific disease in a particular setting. In this context, modern epidemiological modelling and analysis methods have proven themselves increasingly powerful tools for giving insight into the patterns of emergence of novel outbreaks, the transmission dynamics of endemic diseases and the options available for the control of both. The Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis is a world leader in research in this area, and in translating our research into improved public-health decision-making. Since it was founded, MRC funding has supported this translation by facilitating the forging of close partnerships with all major global health organisations (e.g. WHO, PHE, CDC, BMGF, The Global Fund, Gavi) and research centres and public health agencies in many low and middle income countries (LMICs). Continued funding for the Centre will allow existing partnerships to be sustained and enhanced, and new collaborations with researchers and health agencies in LMICs to be developed. By supporting PhD training and postdoctoral career development, it will also continue to expand the UK skill base in mathematical modelling and advanced analysis applied to health problems. Last, continued MRC support will pump-prime new priority research areas, including work on improving the development of new vaccines and on tackling the global challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance.