The Program for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases (PREID) established under the Institute of Clinical Epidemiology at the National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, positions itself at the forefront of research on the nature and emergence of new pathogens, including those that have been found to have re-emerged.
It is PREID’s mission to pursue research, development, and training activities to support local and national efforts to mitigate threats from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
PREID aims to conduct clinical and translational research on emerging infectious diseases as a proactive approach in ensuring the public’s health. More importantly, PREID aims to effectively communicate the generated knowledge/research outcomes to various stakeholders, which would hopefully translate to strategic actions for favorable health outcomes.
Background
The Philippine healthcare system’s vulnerability to infectious diseases was brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic. The yearly emergence of new pathogens as well as the re-emergence of some is highly likely to bring about another pandemic. As the World Health Organization has suggested, “the question is not if there will be another pandemic, it’s when.” This poses a big threat to the public and could mean significantly high morbidity and mortality and adverse socio-economic impact.
The following are challenges that Filipinos face:
- Knowledge gaps on pathogen/host surveillance, study pathogen transmission, pathogenesis and immunologic responses in the host, and develop reagents and diagnostic assays for improved detection for important emerging pathogens and their vectors.
- Lack of a more proactive stance on preventing outbreaks/epidemic of emerging infectious diseases.
Key Activities
- Conduct research (surveillance, vaccine development, detection, treatment, management, etc.)
- Develop training activities to support local and national efforts to mitigate threats from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
- Render technical guidance to policy-making bodies and regulatory bodies
- Communicate research outcomes to various stakeholders that can influence their decisions towards favorable health outcomes (advocacy and communications for prevention, epidemic preparedness, crisis management, protocols, and guidelines tailored for strategically targeted stakeholders)
Connect with Us
For inquiries about PREID and possible collaborations, please send an email to: preid.nih@gmail.com