Jena/Hamburg. The new Leibniz Lab "Pandemic Preparedness: One Health, One Future" integrates excellent interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research from 41 Leibniz Institutes. In doing so, pathogen-oriented sciences (virology, bacteriology, mycology, and immunology) collaborate with other life sciences such as ecology for the first time nationwide with health technologies, health economics, and educational research. This new instrument of the Leibniz Community is funded with three million euros for three years. The aim is to bundle research activities in the aforementioned areas for preparation, prevention, and response to future pandemics and to provide acquired knowledge to political decision-makers in the form of evidence-based recommendations.

Responding to pandemics requires a concerted effort from experts in various fields. "Pandemic Preparedness" leverages the hard lessons learned from the SARS-CoV2 pandemic to adequately prepare for future pandemics. The initiative, which is part of the newly established Leibniz Labs, brings together the expertise of 41 Leibniz Institutes from various sections of the Leibniz Community, including the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena. “The Leibniz Lab is a huge step forward and a network of extraordinary significance for our institute," says Prof. Dr. Dario Riccardo Valenzano, Scientific Director of the FLI.

The Jena Institute is represented by a total of three renowned researchers. In addition to Prof. Dario Riccardo Valenzano, Prof. Dr. Claudia Waskow and Dr. Maria Ermolaeva are also part of the Leibniz Lab. "We want to ensure that society is better protected in future pandemics. This concerns the excess mortality of older citizens due to novel pathogens, but also the suffering of the young and youngest generation, who have been severely restricted in their development due to isolation," says Prof. Claudia Waskow, naming the motivation behind it. The head of the Aging Immunology department and coordinator of the network in Jena is convinced that by combining the expertise of natural science and psychosocial research areas within the Leibniz Community, future pandemics can be better addressed. Dr. Maria Ermolaeva, head of the Stress Tolerance and Homeostasis Laboratory, is also full of confidence: "This is an exciting and very important multidisciplinary project. With our work on reducing age-related metabolic comorbidities, we will make an important contribution."

The Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) – upon its inauguration in 2004 – was the first German research organization dedicated to research on the process of aging. Around 350 employees from around 40 nations explore the molecular mechanisms underlying aging processes and age-associated diseases. For more information, please visit www.leibniz-fli.de.

The Leibniz Association connects 97 independent research institutions that range in focus from natural, engineering, and environmental sciences to economics, spatial, and social sciences and the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic, and ecological relevance. They conduct basic and applied research, including in the interdisciplinary Leibniz Research Alliances, maintain scientific infrastructure, and provide research-based services. The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer, particularly with the Leibniz research museums. It advises and informs policymakers, science, industry, and the general public. Leibniz institutions collaborate intensively with universities – including in the form of Leibniz ScienceCampi – as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad. They are subject to a transparent, independent evaluation procedure. Because of their importance for the country as a whole, the Leibniz Association Institutes are funded jointly by Germany’s central and regional governments. The Leibniz Institutes employ around 20,500 people, including 11,500 researchers. The financial volume amounts to 2 billion euros. For more information: www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/.