New Center Builds Pandemic Resiliency

Back in January 2020, when a strange, fast-spreading, deadly virus emerged from China and threatened to become a global health crisis, the public began asking questions about masks, handwashing, contaminated surfaces, and tests. Information was scarce and public health experts began researching answers.

A new center at Boston University will ensure communities have the fact-based recommendations they need regarding infectious diseases. The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research (CEID), which opened in June 2021, combines technical expertise in diseases such as COVID-19, Zika, and Ebola with policy research. CEID (pronounced “seed”) will advise governments, communities, and academic institutions to help them prepare for, and respond to, epidemics and pandemics at local, national, and global levels.

“I think this type of multidisciplinary center would have helped in early 2020,” says founding director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an associate professor of medicine and associate director at BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. “It would have been there to create just-in-time policy for legislators, to say, hey, here is a two-page brief that can help you understand the science behind the big topics and their policy implications. It would have been a place for the public to go to get evolving scientific information, and a place where multidisciplinary researchers can determine best practices for responding to this crisis from a healthcare perspective.”