Combating infectious diseases remains as important as ever. A combination of basic and applied research has led to some extraordinary success stories, such as the eradication of smallpox. Yet history tells us that the emergence of a new infectious disease that goes on to threaten the health of the global population is a likely scenario. Furthermore, success may not have in-built longevity. The most important example of this is the discovery of a plethora of antimicrobial drugs, followed by continual erosion of their efficacy through the emergence of resistance.
The research being undertaken at the University demonstrates that infectious disease research represents a priority area in Cambridge. Our strengths are broad and range from fundamental biological research through to the development of new drugs, as well as understanding the history of infectious diseases. The translation of genomic technologies to define and contain the spread of bacterial drug resistance represents an important example of how new technologies can be harnessed to tackle global health problems.
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Image: Professor Sharon Peacock
Credit: Stillvision
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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