Cornell University created the Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response to strengthen research, training, and service for future acute health threats from infectious diseases. The Center will have five areas of focus—prevention, prediction, protection, preparedness, and response. The Center seeks to unite Cornell’s outstanding faculty from across the university and collaborate with local, state, national, and international health authorities and non-governmental organizations.

Specific objectives include:

• responding rapidly to dynamic needs of public health agencies and communities during emergencies;
• engaging with non-academic partners to co-identify needs and opportunities, co-design and implement interventions, and assess the outcomes and efficacy of such interventions;
• co-develop and deliver capacity-building interventions and trainings to strengthen the public health workforce and capabilities;
• create and maintain core resources that are identified as needs by our partners; and
• generate and share knowledge among partners to protect and promote the public’s health.

The Center takes advantage of Cornell’s world-leading strengths in human and veterinary medicine; disease diagnostics, surveillance, and epidemiology; microbiology and immunology; health-focused social sciences and policy; disease ecology, ecosystem services and wildlife health; architecture, design, and city and regional planning; and its national prominence as a leader in community engagement and training the public health workforce.