Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Alexander von Humboldt” IMTAvH of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH): The Institute of Tropical Medicine “Alexander von Humboldt” of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, founded in 1968 by Dr. Hugo Lumbreras, is the leading research center in infectious and tropical diseases in Peru. We are a multidisciplinary Institute specialized in infectious and tropical diseases, with global leadership that conducts innovative research; promotes public policies and technology transfer, contributing to the country’s development. We believe that delivering patient care is insufficient to fight against tropical diseases; therefore, we also prioritize training, research and clinical care. This thorough approach has allowed the continuous interaction of physicians and researchers towards prevention, control, the development of diagnostic tests, molecular biology and global health, prioritizing remote rural populations. Currently we have 8 research groups and 12 laboratories (complete list seen below) which bring together faculties from the School of Medicine, Science, Public Health, Veterinary medicine, Dentistry and Nursing which collaborate with national and international institutions in the development of teaching and training activities on infectious and tropical diseases.

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multi-specialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. In 2018, there were 7.9 million total outpatient visits, 238,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 220,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Its research facilities encompass over 700,000 sq ft of laboratory space on campus with nearly 2,000 researchers and support personnel and an annual research budget exceeding $300 million.  Lerner Research Institute (LRI) is home to basic, translational, and clinical research at Cleveland Clinic. With its level of funding from federal and, non-federal sources, the LRI ranks in the top 10 Institutes in the country in terms of research success.  Its 30-year history of groundbreaking advances in antiviral innate immunity research makes Cleveland Clinic an internationally recognized institution in this area of research. These advances include many fundamental discoveries on interferon signal transduction and antiviral pathways. Among the members of the GVN center will be leading investigators in viral-host interactions, encompassing antiviral drug development, immune modulatory therapies, and emerging viral pathogens. The center also includes the recently established Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, dedicated to the advancement of innovative translational research focused on immuno-oncology and infectious diseases.

The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) is the first center in the United States – perhaps the world – to combine the disciplines of basic science, epidemiology and clinical research in a concerted effort to speed the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide variety of chronic and deadly viral and immune disorders – most notably HIV, the cause of AIDS. Formed in 1996 as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland and the University of Maryland Medical System, IHV is an institute of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is home to some of the most globally-recognized and world-renowned experts in the field of human virology.

The University of Southern Denmark welcomed the first students onto the campus in Odense in September 1966. Now it has five faculties with more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad, and more than 3,800 employees distributed across our main campus in Odense and regional campuses in Slagelse, Kolding, Esbjerg and Sønderborg. Several international studies document that we conduct world-class research, and are one of the top fifty young universities in the world. With around 115 different study programs in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences and engineering, graduates of the University of Southern Denmark are now members of virtually every profession in the international community.

In 2019, SDU declared its wish to work with all of the UN’s 17 SDGs. This means reaching out to companies, public institutions and NGOs in the work with the SDG, promoting SDGs as a theme for interdisciplinary research work, and working towards a sustainable development in the operation of the university, to make SDU greener, healthier and more diverse.

The Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre (AIDRC) is a multidisciplinary research centre linking research groups with expertise in virology, bacteriology, parasitology and clinical research at the University of Queensland (UQ) and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMRB). AID’s mission is to utilize leading technologies to identify, understand and prevent infectious diseases. The primary strength of the Virology discipline at the AID is in arbovirology, primarily flaviviruses and alphaviruses. AID also has internationally recognised expertise in HPV, HIV, MERS, Ebola and RSV.

The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), which has campuses in both Rockville, MD and La Jolla, CA, has become a major center in virology research. The thread that runs through all JCVI research is genomics, i.e. analysis of the genetic material of populations of organisms, organisms, cells, and viruses. The virology program at JCVI conducts research focused primarily on genomics, evolution, pathogenesis, and vaccine development. The JCVI virology community is composed of representatives from every group in the institute: infectious diseases, human genomics, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, and environmental genomics. JCVI virology may be best known for sequencing thousands of complete influenza virus genomes, and the viral genomics program also has expertise in sequencing, assembly, and annotation of many other virus families. Thus, the ability of JCVI to rapidly isolate, sequence, analyze and synthesize virus genomes through a fully integrated workflow infrastructure makes JCVI unique as a possible rapid response center and therefore a valuable partner in the GVN.