Health
THE Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, has announced the new and returning members selected to join its Scientific Advisory Committee for the next three-year period.
Comprising 34 expert individuals from a broad range of key disciplines—including epidemiology, vaccine development, vaccine manufacturing, public health and regulatory sciences—the group will work as an independent body to provide world-class scientific input and recommendations to guide CEPI staff and the CEPI Board in responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
They will also deliver guidance and challenge towards CEPI’s US$3.5bn plan, announced in March 2021, to mitigate or even dramatically reduce the threat of future pandemics and epidemics.
The 2021-2024 CEPI Scientific Advisory Committee includes new members, as well as existing members who have served on the committee since its launch in 2018 and will run an additional two-year term. Additional members may join in the coming months.
Helen Rees, Executive Director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute of the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), will return as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for a one-year term. Michael King, an independent vaccine manufacturing consultant, has been newly selected as Vice-Chair.
The new members will start in their roles this month, June 2021.
“On behalf of CEPI and the CEPI Board, I am delighted to welcome our new and returning members to the Scientific Advisory Committee,” said Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. “The expert group has already served as a pivotal force in propelling our scientific understanding and insight forward for our priority diseases like Lassa fever, Ebola, and, today, COVID-19. We look forward to working with our new colleagues who, through their scientific flair and creativity, will be instrumental in guiding us and the world forward in our response to epidemic and pandemic disease.”
“In selecting our new members, we have created a global forum of voices with diverse scientific and cultural input to build on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and catalyse progress tackling the global health challenges that lie ahead of us. I wish to thank the inaugural members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for their innovation and collaboration in supporting CEPI’s work over the past three years.”
Members of the Scientific Advisory Committee were selected following a call launched by CEPI in January 2021. Following the call’s closure, CEPI conducted an exhaustive review process of candidates based on expertise, experience, and geographical representation across March and April 2021. All candidates were approved by the Executive and Investment Committee of the CEPI Board.
– June 11, 2021 @ 13:21 GMT |
Tags: Vaccine specialists and global health experts selected for CEPI’s Scientific Advisory Committee
