The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute and the Pasteur Network Partner to Strengthen Global Disease Surveillance

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

Washington, D.C., Paris | July 26, 2022 – The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI) and the Pasteur Network have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance early detection and reporting for emerging and re-emerging diseases and build a robust decentralized global surveillance network that strengthens local capacity for sharing high-quality data across countries.
The collaboration aims to enhance the effectiveness of the Pandemic Prevention Institute and the Pasteur Network’s 33 member institutions in both addressing infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and Monkeypox, and informing interventions against them.

“Our work with the Pasteur Network will undoubtedly make a transformational impact on global health security, leveraging the ability to advance equitable data-sharing practices that will provide key stakeholders and decision-makers with timely, more accurate and relevant information to make critical health and policy decisions,” said Dr. Rick Bright, CEO of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute. “Our collective aim is to advance access to pathogen surveillance, genomic sequencing, analytics, and data sharing tools in low- and middle-income countries and to foster sentinel laboratory networks for early disease detection.”

“This MoU is a major milestone in our collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation and the PPI that could lead to significant impact in epidemic and pandemic preparedness. Together, the Pasteur Network and PPI are an effective combination of complementary talents and capacity to address global health threats said Dr. Amadou Sall, President of the Pasteur Network.

“We are proud to support this initiative. This important, historic partnership will provide much-needed support to capacity building and epidemic intelligence,” said Professor Stewart Cole, President of the Pasteur Network Foundation that contributes to the Pasteur Network’s development.

Over the coming years, the partnership will focus primarily on the following areas:

• Advancing global equitable data sharing to provide key stakeholders and decision-makers with an analytical toolset that leverages timely, more accurate and relevant data and information,
• Bolstering epidemiological and genomic surveillance in low- and middle-income countries to track emerging pathogen variants and transmission for real-time analyses, as well as advancing access to pathogen surveillance and analytical tools, such as digital apps,
• Enhancing discovery of emerging and re-emerging high consequence pathogens, generating a diversity of essential disease surveillance data streams in areas such as zoonosis, anti-microbial resistance and water borne diseases and,
• Building fit for purpose data analytics and disease discovery and forecasting systems, informed by the organizations’ partner networks, that are relevant, sustainable, and equitable at the local, state, and pan-regional level.

The partnership will also focus on interdisciplinary research projects addressing the causes of outbreaks and epidemics. The combined networks will maintain local and regional structures to foster a permanent operational force and share technologies, systems, practices, and techniques with their networks.

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About the Pasteur Network

Pasteur Network, previously known as the Institut Pasteur International Network, is a worldwide network of members which contribute to global health. This unique model of cooperation brings together, beyond the independent public or private structures that form the Network, a human and scientific community collectively mobilized for both local, regional and global health priorities. The members of Pasteur Network share the same mission to improve health through biomedical research, public health activities, training, and innovation.
For more information, visit our members dedicated webpage and follow us on LinkedIn and on the Institut Pasteur’s Twitter.

About the Pandemic Prevention Institute

The Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute (PPI) is mission-driven to contribute to the crucial work of building systems that detect, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats, leading to rapid, effective containment. PPI is pursuing its mission through the integration of cutting-edge technology and analytic approaches that turn data into action that drives life-saving decisions; a federated network of data users and holders with global representation; and collaborative leadership at the global level.
For more information on partners, data solutions and more visit the PPI official website and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food.
For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter.

Media Contacts:

Mike Hayes
VP Communications / CCO, Pandemic Prevention Institute
mhayes@rockfound.org | +1 703-740-6981

Juliette Hardy
Head of Communications, Pasteur Network
juliette.hardy@pasteur.fr

Original publication on July 26^th 2022. Updated on September 27^th, 2022.

In June 2021, the Pasteur Network changed its governance to be more participatory and egalitarian. Upon agreement of all its members, a dedicated executive board was created to translate this evolution into concrete actions.

At the end of June 2022, the restructuring of the Pasteur Network begins with the arrival of Rebecca F. Grais, its new Executive Director, whose vision integrates a strong human dimension that is essential to the functioning of a network.

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Rebecca F. Grais was the Director of Research at Epicentre. She has extensive experience in epidemiological research focused on populations with little or no access to care. She was a former co-opted member of the Board of Directors and a member of scientific committees in the network and thus has a good knowledge of the Pasteur Network, its strengths, weaknesses and potential. She will lead its development with a collaborative ethos to address public health issues and improve health equity throughout the world.

Under her leadership, Pasteur Network will unite around a common culture built on the fundamental right of every human being to be in good health ^[1]. Rebecca F. Grais’ vision of the network includes a multi-scale approach: that of the individuals, that of the members and that of the Pasteur Network as a whole. With her, the network will learn to develop and add the strengths of each to improve public health in all its aspects: research, prevention, communication, and training among others.

Rebecca F. Grais will ensure that an environment conducive to the acquisition of knowledge and skills is maintained for both the Pasteurian community and the local populations. The results will be translated and transmitted beyond the scientific and academic literature. This open approach will participate in ensuring community participation and  will contribute to the development of health policies.

The executive management of Pasteur Network will leverage the network’s international presence, collaborative ethos, and diverse expertise to establish its global leadership.

About:

Rebecca F. Grais’ work focuses on prevention of infectious diseases, tropical diseases and emerging infections in low resource settings, particularly low and middle income countries among populations with little to no access to care. She has also focused on population-based studies of the effectiveness of public health interventions and efficacy trials of novel vaccines and therapeutic agents.

An additional aspect of her work concerns professional development, mentoring, and management training for populations underrepresented in research. The goal is to advance their individual careers while contributing to responsive innovations in health care. Rebecca F. Grais completed the majority of her training at John Hopkins University (USA) before obtaining her accreditation to supervise research from the Faculty of Medicine at the Université Paris-Saclay (formerly Paris-Sud) in 2013. At Epicentre, she was the head of the Epidemiology unit before becoming the Director of Research from 2015 to 2022.

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[1]  According to the WHO Constitution “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.”

Original publication on June 23^rd 2022, updated September 27^th 2022.

New appointments took place between July and September 2021 within the Pasteur Network. Six directors where appointed in agreement with the local institute administrations and the Institut Pasteur for a period of at least two years.

These new directors will integrate the various bodies of the Pasteur Network located in the Network four regions : Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Euro-Mediterranean.

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Original publication on November 17^th 2021. Updated on September 27^th, 2022.