College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Glasgow will host the UK’s pandemic preparedness conference on 23 April 2025, bringing together key experts from UK public health bodies, global health organisations, research institutions and life sciences companies.

The conference, organised by the UK Pandemic Sciences Network (UKPSN), sees the country’s leading scientists come together with the joint goals of supporting the delivery of the 100 days mission and improving pandemic preparedness, both in the UK and globally.

The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), based at the University of Glasgow’s Garscube Campus, will host the event, further cementing its reputation as a major centre of excellence in virology and a vital part of the UK’s pandemic preparedness plans.

Conference discussions will focus on surveillance, preparedness, new technologies, response, communications, priorities and intelligence sharing. In addition to a keynote speech from Dr Janet Diaz from the World Health Organization, the event will include addresses from Dr Mary da Silva from the Department of Health and Social Care and from Professor Sir Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland.

Research talks will cover areas including using AI to accelerate virology and genomics research, and a keynote speech by Professor Wendy Barclay from Imperial College London on working in collaboration to address risks from pandemic respiratory viruses.

Currently, the UKPSN Chair is held jointly by Director of the CVR Professor Emma Thomson, and Prof Kenneth Baillie from the Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub, University of Edinburgh.

Professor Thomson said: “This conference is a timely and necessary opportunity to bring together colleagues from across the UK, and globally, to strengthen our collective preparedness for future pandemics.

“At the CVR, our work is rooted in collaboration – across disciplines, sectors and borders – and we are committed to contributing the science, infrastructure and partnerships needed to support the 100 days mission. Effective pandemic response depends on coordinated action, and this meeting is an important step towards that goal.”

The following day, on 24 April, the CVR will host an international meeting of the One Health Computational Network – a new initiative harnessing AI-driven technologies to transform how we detect and assess emerging viral threats across human, animal and environmental health.

Established in 2010 as a partnership between the Medical Research Council and University of Glasgow, the CVR’s mission is to improve global health and preparedness to viral threats by carrying out research on human viral diseases, and on viruses at the human–animal interface. Through its world-class science, state-of-the-art advanced technologies, collaboration and engagement, the CVR has become an important centre of excellence, now a vital asset for the UK’s research community and the country’s strategy for preparedness and response to viral threats.

The CVR takes an innovative ‘molecules to populations’ approach, underpinned by a powerful combination of infrastructure, technical platforms and dedicated expertise. Building on the CVR’s research response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre now has substantial infrastructure that can be rapidly tailored to outbreak response as well as deliver enhanced surveillance projects and develop data linkage processes, techniques and tools for viruses with pandemic potential.

The 100 days mission was agreed by G7 countries in 2021 to ensure rapid global response to any emerging pandemic threat. The aim of the mission is to reduce the impact of future pandemics by making diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines available within 100 days.

The UK’s science and innovation-led approach to combatting COVID-19 delivered major national and global benefits at record speed. This has leveraged expertise and capabilities from across a wide range of leading UK universities, academic institutions and life science companies. The UK Pandemic Sciences Network (UKPSN) was formed in 2022 to build upon this and improve responsiveness to future pandemic threats. The ultimate purpose of the UKPSN is to help protect people and society from epidemic and pandemic infectious diseases through scientific discovery and innovation.

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Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 23 April 2025