Academics, students and professional members of staff from across the University have been recognised in this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Research Impact and Engagement Awards for their work in areas including COVID-19 testing, PPE production and online engagement.
The University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital have secured £1.5million of funding as part of the national effort by UK immunologists to understand immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
A Cambridge-developed vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 could begin clinical trials in the UK in late autumn or early next year, thanks to a £1.9million award from the UK government.
Compiled by a team of international wildlife and veterinary experts, a new study has identified seven routes by which pandemics could occur and 161 options for reducing the risk.
“Cambridge’s infectious diseases community is making a huge contribution to tackling the pandemic,” says Professor James Wood. He leads several large-scale programmes at the University that rely on his research expertise: infectious diseases that jump from animals to humans. This is, he says, a research area that was ‘colossally neglected’ before COVID-19 emerged.
“Complex social, political, economic and ecological forces not only drive infectious disease emergence, but increase our susceptibility to epidemics when they occur,” says Freya Jephcott. Her interdisciplinary approach considers the science of disease outbreaks alongside the beliefs and practices of public health professionals - and how these influence the efficiency of outbreak responses.
“We have been expecting a pandemic like this for nearly twenty years,” says Olivier Restif, who uses mathematical modelling to understand how infectious diseases spread within and across species. In the midst of a global pandemic that began when one person was infected by one wild animal, he is keen to draw attention to the importance of using research to be better prepared.
Should we be concerned about the coronavirus spreading to cats? Not yet, says Dr Sarah Caddy in this article for The Conversation, even after a concerning report from Belgium.
The race is on to find a vaccine against the new COVID-19 coronavirus. Professor Jonathan Heeney explains why a cautious approach is needed and how his team is using new technology developed for influenza and Ebola viruses to target the new infection.
While the carbon footprint of the meat industry may be clear, the proposition of eating less beef and lamb is fueling heated debate. If widespread change would be such a good thing, why can't – or won't – many people stop eating it?
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