UKPSN Conference 2025

UK Pandemic Sciences Network Conference 2025: A Day of Great Discussions

On April 23, 2025, the UK Pandemic Sciences Network (UKPSN) (https://ukpsn.org/) held a conference at the University of Glasgow, co-chaired by Professor Kenneth Baillie and Professor Emma Thomson (University of Glasgow). The event brought together experts from across the UK to discuss pandemic preparedness, response strategies, and emerging technologies.

Keynote presentations included Professor Sir Gregor Smith (Chief Medical Officer for Scotland) on Scotland’s pandemic strategy, Dr. Mary da Silva (Department of Health and Social Care) on cross-government collaboration for R&D, and Professor Marion Koopmans (Erasmus University Medical Centre) on transitioning from response to prediction. Professor Wendy Barclay (Imperial College London) focused on consortia working to address pandemic respiratory virus risks.

Further discussions covered topics like new influenza programmes from the WHO, protein structure prediction in virology by Dr. Joe Grove (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research), and the role of genomics and AI in causal inference by Professor Kenneth Baillie. The afternoon also featured insights on novel interventions for arboviruses by Professor Steven Sinkins (MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research) and a facilitated discussion on new technologies in pandemic preparedness.

The event concluded with updates from UKPSN partners, reinforcing the importance of collaboration and innovation in enhancing the UK’s position in pandemic preparedness.