FAPESP joins Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases

International consortium of public health research agencies supports research on chronic non-communicable diseases. FAPESP has also joined GloPID-R, a global research network that focuses on infectious diseases.

Agência FAPESP – The Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) now has a representative of Brazil. FAPESP is the newest member of the GACD, a consortium of public health research funding agencies that supports research on chronic non-communicable diseases.

According to the GACD, collaboration with “one of Latin America’s key research funders will further strengthen” its research network in the region.

“Having Brazil join our expanding network of researchers and research programs in the Americas will be an invaluable contribution to the GACD. By joining the alliance, FAPESP are becoming part of a unique global network of funders that jointly support research and provide evidence to influence policy and practice in the areas of non-communicable diseases worldwide,” said Alain Beaudet, Chair of the GACD.

Headquartered in London, the GACD funds programs of research on lifestyle-related or chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, certain cancers, lung diseases and mental disorders.

The alliance coordinates and supports research activities that address the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases on a global scale. These conditions account for 60% of deaths worldwide, according to the GACD, which focuses on the needs of low- and middle-income countries, as well as vulnerable populations of more developed countries.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to collaborate with key international funders and create opportunities for researchers in São Paulo,” said Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, FAPESP’s Scientific Director. “The GACD will provide a distinctive platform for fostering collaborative research, which will facilitate scientific collaboration by researchers in São Paulo with a unique cohort of international non-communicable disease researchers.”

The GACD is the first collaboration of major research funding agencies to address chronic non-communicable diseases specifically. Together, the members of the alliance represent over 80% of public health research funding worldwide.

The GACD’s members include Australia’s National Health & Medical Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the UK’s Medical Research Council, the Japan Agency for Medical Research & Development, the European Commission’s Health Directorate at the Research & Innovation DG, and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Representatives of the NIH on the GACD’s board and management committee advocated FAPESP’s membership, which was accepted, making FAPESP the first non-federal agency to join the alliance.

Brito Cruz now sits on the GACD’s board and FAPESP is represented on the management committee by Fernando Cendes, Full Professor of Neurology at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and a member of FAPESP’s Health Sciences Area Panel.

More information about the GACD: www.gacd.org. Opportunities launched jointly with FAPESP will also be announced at: fapesp.br/en/10462.

GloPID-R

FAPESP has also recently joined GloPID-R, a network of 23 research funding organizations in the area of infectious disease preparedness research.

GloPID-R aims to bring together research funders on a global scale to facilitate an effective research response within 48 hours of a significant outbreak of a new or re-emerging infectious disease with pandemic potential.

The network’s specific objectives include planning and investing in research and innovation before an epidemic or health crisis occurs; facilitating the exchange of information; addressing scientific, legal, ethical and financial challenges; implementing a “One Health” approach with close cooperation among human and animal health researchers; connecting infectious disease research networks; and establishing a strategic agenda for research response.

The members of GloPID-R include the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research & Innovation, the African Academy of Sciences, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Department of Health & Human Services, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the UK’s Wellcome Trust, the World Health Organization, and Brazil’s Butantan Institute and Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ).

FAPESP’s representative is Walter Colli, a member of the steering committee for the foundation’s Zika Virus Research Program and its Life Sciences Adjunct Panel.

More information on GloPID-R: www.glopid-r.org. Opportunities launched jointly with FAPESP will also be announced at: fapesp.br/en/10463.