Launch of collaborative infection research institute

The Bloomsbury Institute for Pathogen Research (BiPR), a joint venture between UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), was launched this week. A memorandum of understanding between UCL and LSHTM has been signed establishing a framework for the Institute's development as a centre of excellence for research into pathogens - microorganisms that cause disease in human and animal hosts. The BiPR was formally launched at a meeting on Tuesday 8 November at UCL. The venture between UCL Division of Infection & Immunity and the LSHTM will bring together more than 70 principal investigators who between them have attracted research income in excess of £100M over the past four years. The BiPR will bring together basic science, translational studies and clinical expertise from across both institutions and their associated hospitals, to provide an optimal environment to develop new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. The partnership will consolidate expertise to cover many different agents of infectious disease. Research carried out by BiPR affiliated researchers will build on existing national and international collaborations to address key current issues in infectious disease, the global medical and economic burden of infection, treatment failures of existing pathogens and the emergence of new pathogens.