Fostering the culture of convergence in research
Combating infectious diseases remains as important as ever. A combination of basic and applied research has led to some extraordinary success stories, such as the eradication of smallpox. Yet, history reminds us that the emergence of a new infectious disease can rapidly traverse contents and threaten the health of the population at a global scale.
Cambridge Infectious Diseases is a virtual centre for infectious diseases researchers at the University of Cambridge and affiliated institutes. We became a University Interdisciplinary Research Centre in 2016.
Our vision is to build a world-leading interdisciplinary centre with capacity to develop innovative solutions for intractable infectious disease problems and support evidence for infectious disease policy.
Our strategic aims include:
- to connect a diverse research community
- to create increased opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborative research
- to translate and share knowledge bringing the benefits of innovation to all sections of industry, government and society
- to develop external partnerships
- to equip the next generation of researchers with the knowledge, experience and skills for interdisciplinary research
Our virtual network connects over 300 infectious diseases researchers across the University and sector leading institutes in Cambridge and beyond. Our members include 110 Principal Investigators, and are from all six schools of the University, including with members from biological sciences, medicine, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, computer science, engineering and technology.
Our activities support the practice of collaboration, operating as a connector and catalyzer of existing and new initiatives, supporting the capacity of researchers to develop new research collaborations, and acting as a gateway for industry, policy makers and the public to access Cambridge expertise in infectious diseases.
Cambridge Infectious Diseases IRC is governed by a Steering Committee co-chaired by Professor James Wood (Department of Veterinary Medicine) and Dr. Lydia Drumright (Department of Medicine), which includes senior and early career representatives from across all six schools at the University of Cambridge and key affiliated partner institutes and organisations. The centre activities are coordinated by a Coordinator (info@infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk).
The CID IRC team works very closely with
- Cambridge Enterprise , the University’s wholly owned technology transfer company, which offers support for researchers who wish to commercialise their research.Such activities include licensing of intellectual property, spin out companies or consultancy
- the Office for Translational Research in the School of Clinical Medicine
- Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences connecting world-leading academic and industry expertise to drive therapeutic development
- the University's Strategic Research Initiatives and Networks
- the University's Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP)
- The Wellcome Sanger Institute using genome sequences to advance understanding of the biology of humans and pathogens to improve human health
The Cambridge Infectious Diseases IRC provides a model of how a small administrative infrastructure, with academic input from members, can initiate and support a range of collaborations, training events and information resources, thereby ultimately leading to better collaborative research, and we encourage researchers to join us. Joining is open to Cambridge-based researchers, at any level of their career, with an interest in research relating to infectious diseases. We welcome news about your research, and proposal ideas to develop new meetings and workshops or pathways to collaboration. Join us.
