The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

One of the world’s greatest challenges is understanding the nature of bacterial and viral infections and this was highlighted by the COVID19 pandemic, says Woolcock Executive Director Professor Paul Foster.

“Our climate, our environment, is changing. And with that, the behaviour of these pathogens will change. You'll have species that were restricted to certain areas able to survive in other areas. The nature of microbes is infection so we could potentially be more susceptible to infectious diseases as climate change occurs.”

The development of mRNA vaccines is crucial to that. “We’re now able to rapidly develop next-generation vaccines so we can address emerging infectious disease and prepare for the next pandemic.”

And to finding the answers to other respiratory viruses. “On my scientific journey, there has never been a vaccine against RSV. The technology that came along with COVID means we do now and that’s critically important immunocompromised infants and adults.”

Find out more

• About Professor Paul Foster
• About the Woolcock
• Sign up to our monthly newsletter