UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute and Institut Pasteur form center to fight infectious disease

The UCSF Quantitative Bio​­sciences Institute (QBI) has signed an agreement with the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France) to found a joint center to understand, treat, and prevent infectious diseases worldwide.

The Institut Pasteur-UCSF QBI Center of Excellence in Emerging Infectious Diseases, which will be led at UCSF by QBI Director Nevan Krogan, PhD, aims to “anticipate the future needs of infectious disease threats,” Krogan told UCSF News.

QBI is an organized research unit in the UCSF School of Pharmacy.

With operations in San Francisco and Paris, the center will bring UCSF and the Institut Pasteur together to train scientists, secure research funding, foster exchange programs, share data from study cohorts, and investigate the role of global warming in the re-emergence of neglected diseases in tropical areas.

The partnership builds on the success of recent collaborations between QBI, the Gladstone Institutes, Institut Pasteur, and other institutions, spearheaded by the QBI Coronavirus Research Group, which sought to understand the coronavirus and speed the development of vaccines and therapies.

Since the earliest days of the pandemic, the group has published a steady drumbeat of research on interactions between human proteins and the many variants of SARS-CoV-2, revealing dozens of known drugs that could disrupt these interactions as well as new, potential therapeutic targets. One such drug already approved for cancer treatment is now in clinical trials as a COVID-19 antiviral.

Additionally, Krogan received France’s top award, the Legion of Honor, in recognition of his leadership of these international collaborations, all of which have played a significant role in advancing an understanding of the virus in pursuit of better therapies.

Krogan is a faculty member in the School of Medicine’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and an investigator at the Gladstone Institutes.

“This award will serve as additional inspiration to continue my work in revolutionizing how we collaborate in science to solve some of the world’s biggest medical challenges,” Krogan told UCSF News. “I am deeply honored to receive the Legion of Honor Award and feel privileged for this prestigious recognition by France.”

More

• UCSF, Institut Pasteur Develop Center on Emerging Infectious Disease (UCSF News)

• UCSF’s Nevan Krogan Wins France’s Highest Honor (UCSF News)