President of McMaster University Canada, Professor David Farrar visited the University of Liverpool this month to further the partnership with the University of Liverpool.
Whilst here, David Farrar and Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Impact (Pictured left to right) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for greater collaboration between McMaster’s Global Nexus and Liverpool’s Pandemic Institute.
Following the visit, President, David Farrar says that the University of Liverpool is key in developing the local, regional and national frameworks for pandemic preparedness in the United Kingdom, in part due to their strengths in tropical and veterinary medicine, virology and antimicrobial resistance. “Between our universities, we see several opportunities to accelerate vaccine and antibiotic development and address the challenges related to infrastructure, PPE, manufacturing, public policy and the spread of misinformation,” he says.
Anthony Hollander, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Impact at the University of Liverpool, says, international collaborations are essential in addressing the global challenges we have seen arising during the Covid-19 pandemic. I am delighted to see this new relationship developing between the University of Liverpool and McMaster University in a field where we both have a strong track record of impactful research. I am looking forward to the opportunities this partnership will create for our researchers to work with our partners in Canada.
The visit provided a forum for an exchange of ideas and perspectives on the past and current difficulties that COVID-19 has brought globally, including the challenging landscape universities around the world have experienced, and their role in developing strong evidence-based solutions for future epidemics.
Whilst in Liverpool, David met with senior staff from all Faculties, building on the visit in October 2021, by Dr Karen Mossman, Vice President for Research at McMaster. Then a Framework Agreement for International Collaboration in education and research was signed. This expansion of our global partnerships in Pandemic Research is part of the growing international recognition of the University of Liverpool’s key role in the UK’s contribution to the pandemic response.
Later this year both undergraduate and post-graduate research students are expected to have opportunity to travel to McMaster University for education and research purposes.
If you would like to know more about collaborating with McMaster please contact Helen Carlin, International Development Office, at: hcarlin@liverpool.ac.uk.