DURABLE

The challenge

Outbreaks of infectious diseases are increasing due to multiple local and global interaction changes disrupting the fragile balance of the complex human-animal-environment ecosystem. The increased frequency and complexity of health threats require a different, unified form of preparedness and a coordinated, fast, reliable and effective emergency response.

Objectives

• To be be a one-stop shop for diagnostics, research, preparedness and response to current and future health threats for the benefit of citizens in the EU and worldwide.
• To coordinate, integrate, analyse and share the output for rapid and direct use in public health decision making.
• To develop and use both non-targeted and targeted methods for identification of known and new threats
• To establish a sustainable network of laboratories and research institutes that can address the barriers of better preparedness, and provide alerts, real-time scientific data and integrated analyses to HERA.
• To develop targeted studies to guide further evidence gathering in response to alerts

The Role of the Pasteur Network

The Pasteur Network (PN) plays a crucial role in the DURABLE project by enhancing capacity within the network through various training opportunities for its members. Here are some key initiatives led by the PN team:

• Mid-term Fellowships: Launching in 2025, these fellowships will facilitate staff exchanges between DURABLE partner institutions, providing hands-on training opportunities.
• Research Management during Outbreaks: The first school, launched in May 2024 in collaboration with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, resulted in the creation of a Research Management Community.
• Bioinformatics for Outbreak: Scheduled for July 7-11, 2025, at Institut Pasteur, this course will focus on pathogen detection, outbreak tracing, phylodynamics, and pathogen evolution.
• Webinars & MOOCs: The PN team initiated a series of webinars and a MOOC on Research Management, starting with a session on in vitro & in vivo models in September 2024. More sessions are planned for the future.