Pandemic Center

The Pandemic Center

The Pandemic Center

Informing Action. Training Leaders. Increasing Resilience.

We are in an age of pandemic threats.

COVID-19, the most consequential pandemic in a century, is not our last. The Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health works to reduce vulnerabilities and increase resilience to pandemics, other biological emergencies, and the harms they pose to health, peace, security, and prosperity. The Pandemic Center is an independent and credible voice for positive disruption.

This Pandemic Center is uniquely positioned to work across disciplines and sectors to generate and analyze evidence, educate a new generation of leaders, and ensure this work is translated to effective policy and practice around the globe.

Recent News

 See all news
Bloomberg

RFK Jr.’s mRNA Decision May Be His Worst Yet

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cancel $500 million in grants and contracts for mRNA vaccine development jeopardizes the health and safety of Americans — both now and for years to come.

The Nobel Prize-winning technology enabled the first Covid-19 vaccines to be developed with breathtaking speed during the first year of the pandemic, ultimately saving millions of lives. Yet Kennedy spent years undermining confidence in mRNA, a misinformation campaign that he continued after he took office. Now, he’s systematically dismantling the very infrastructure we need to respond to a future pandemic.

---
Read Article
The Hill

Huge cuts to mRNA research spark fears about future pandemics

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision this week to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in mRNA vaccine funding will leave the United States unprepared for the next pandemic and other public health emergencies, public health experts warned.

“I’ve tried to be objective & non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions—but quite frankly this move is going to cost lives,” President Trump’s former surgeon general, Jerome Adams, said in a post on the social platform X.

“mRNA technology has uses that go far beyond vaccines … and the vaccine they helped develop in record time is credited with saving millions.”

---
Read Article
The Independent

Doctors decry RFK Jr decision to slash mRNA vaccine grants: ‘Our nation will pay in lives’

Doctors are sounding the alarm about potentially deadly consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to slash $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development, saying the “deeply troubling” move could leave Americans defenseless in the face of a biological attack, or another pandemic.

Leading physicians and vaccine specialists were among the medical and scientific experts who told The Independent that years of progress had been lost, including the lessons learned during Covid.

---
Read Article

Biosecurity Game Changers Fellowship

Next generation leaders chosen to be biosecurity game changers, serve in key global organizations to shape the future of the field.

More details

Evidence to Drive Decision-Making

We are responding to the need to generate, synthesize and translate evidence to better define the most effective policies, practices, and resources to prepare for future infectious disease emergencies and confront the current crisis.
Visit Page

Creating and Impacting Leaders

The Center is dedicated to cross-training a new generation of diverse pandemic leaders and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to make change in the world.
Visit Page

Maximum Impact to Prevent, Detect, and Change Pandemic Outcomes

Engaging with governments, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations and media across the globe, the Pandemic Center works to advance evidence-based policies and practices to save lives, improve quality of life and equity and avert existential biological risks.
Visit Page

Explore the American Democracy and Health Security Initiative: Lamplighters and New Recommendations

The Initiative's website collects hundreds of Pandemic Lamplighter stories and lessons learned from their innovation and ingenuity in the face of pandemic darkness.

Explore More

Pandemic Center Offices

Providence

Brown University School of Public Health

121 S. Main Street, Providence, RI 02903

Google Maps view of Pandemic Center's Providence Location

Washington, D.C.

National Press Building

1320 F St NW, Washington, DC 20045

Google Maps view of Pandemic Center's DC Location