The consortium is led by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases and Inserm.
The consortium is composed of 25 partners from 11 countries :
ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases
Paris, France

ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases
ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS MIE) is an autonomous agency of Inserm that facilitates, evaluates, coordinates, and funds research on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
ANRS MIE was established in 2021 following the merger of the National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS), originally created in 1988 to combat HIV, and the REACTing consortium.
The agency has since expanded its scope to include emerging infectious diseases such as viral haemorrhagic fevers, arboviruses, and emerging respiratory infections, including COVID-19. ANRS MIE supports all areas of research—fundamental, clinical, public health, and human and social sciences—with a strong focus on innovation and the strengthening of international partnerships.
Adopting a One Health approach, which integrates human and animal health with environmental impact, the agency prepares scientific responses to emerging health threats and ensures their effective deployment in times of crisis.
ANRS MIE brings together and coordinates several national and international networks of researchers and physicians affiliated with major research organisations, universities, hospitals, and associations.
For more information, visit: https://anrs.fr
Sorbonne University
Paris, France

Sorbonne University
Sorbonne University (in French: Sorbonne Université) is a public research university located in Paris, France.
With 55,000 students, 7,300 academic and partner researchers, and 3,900 administrative and technical staff, Sorbonne University promotes diversity, creativity, innovation, and openness to the world.
The university’s legacy dates back to the Middle Ages, with the founding of the Sorbonne College in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon as part of the University of Paris—one of the first universities in Europe.
Its current form was established in 2018 through the merger of Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) and Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI). Sorbonne University is one of the most sought-after institutions by students and researchers from France, Europe, and French-speaking countries worldwide.
For Sorbonne University, the dissemination of knowledge is an integral part of the scientific process—whether through teaching, publication, or science communication. Scientific knowledge is considered a common good.
The university is firmly committed to open science and free access to scientific publications. Its researchers are encouraged to deposit their work in the Sorbonne University HAL open archive as soon as it is published.
For more information, visit: www.sorbonne-universite.fr
Oslo Universitetssykehus HF
Oslo, Norway

Oslo Universitetssykehus HF
Oslo University Hospital is a highly specialised hospital responsible for extensive regional and local healthcare services, providing high-quality care to the citizens of Oslo. The hospital also holds nationwide responsibilities for several national and multi-regional assignments and hosts national centres of competence.
The Division of Critical Care and Emergencies, as well as the Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, are actively involved in all research activities related to patients infected with COVID-19. These departments also served as national leading units in the organisation and implementation of the NOR-SOLIDARITY trial.
Both departments are deeply engaged in international collaborations and participate in Nordic partnerships through the Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (SSAI) and the Nordic Trial Alliance (NTA). They share a strong interest in building a collaborative research network that bridges infectious diseases and intensive care medicine.
On the methodology and operational side, the Clinical Trials Unit has a strong track record of providing data management and statistical competence to large international trials and projects.
For more information, visit: www.oslo-universitetssykehus.no
Servicio Madrileño de Salud
Madrid, Spain

Servicio Madrileño de Salud
Formed in 2001, SERMAS is the public health system of the Madrid Autonomous Region, Spain. In addition to its network of clinical facilities—such as La Paz University Hospital (HULP)—it includes several research institutes, notably the Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research (IdiPAZ).
SERMAS is responsible for both the management and delivery of public healthcare services in the Madrid region, as well as for the implementation of programmes for disease prevention, health promotion, and rehabilitation.
HULP is the flagship general tertiary hospital in the Madrid region, serving a population of over 500,000 people. As the first modern-concept hospital built in Spain, it has maintained its reputation over the years, consistently ranked among the most highly valued public hospitals.
It is also recognised as a national reference centre for emerging infectious threats. Notably, it is the only hospital in Europe to have successfully treated patients with COVID-19, Ebola, and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
For more information, visit: www.comunidad.madrid/servicios/salud
Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz
Madrid, Spain

Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Universitario La Paz
Created on 15 December 2009, the Health Research Institute of La Paz University Hospital (IdiPAZ) is a multidisciplinary and translational biomedical research centre focused on basic, clinical, epidemiological, and health services research. It results from the collaboration between La Paz University Hospital (HULP), the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the University Hospital of Getafe (HUG), the European University (EU), and the Biomedical Research Foundation of La Paz University Hospital (FIBHULP).
IdiPAZ brings together the clinical, translational, and experimental research activity of La Paz University Hospital.
The institute includes 55 research groups, organised into six main research areas: neurosciences; cardiovascular; infectious diseases and immunity; organ system pathologies; cancer and human molecular genetics; surgery, transplant, and health technologies.
IdiPAZ also operates several shared core platforms—such as Clinical Trials, Molecular Medicine, and 3D Printing—designed to promote synergies among research groups and with hospital departments.
For more information, visit: www.idipaz.es
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Bruxelles, Belgium

Université Libre de Bruxelles
Founded in 1834, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) has a long-standing tradition of excellence in research, with four scientific Nobel Prizes, two Nobel Peace Prizes, one Fields Medal, three Wolf Prizes, and two Marie Curie Excellence Awards. It is one of the largest and most renowned research universities in Belgium, with nearly 38,000 students and 12 faculties covering all disciplines, closely integrating academic teaching and research.
ULB offers nearly 40 undergraduate programmes and 250 graduate programmes, including 23 master’s degrees fully taught in English and six Erasmus Mundus programmes. The university also partners with 20 doctoral schools, with nearly 1,600 PhD candidates currently in progress.
ULB has extensive experience with European funding programmes and has participated in around 270 projects supported by both the 7th Framework Programme and Horizon 2020.
The Clinic of Infectious Diseases team is highly active in clinical research, both academic and industry-sponsored, with a focus on the treatment of complex and emerging infections. Research areas include multi-resistant bacteria, invasive fungal infections, respiratory viral infections, and infections in immunocompromised patients.
For more information, visit: www.ulb.be
Università degli Studi di Verona
Verona, Italy

Università degli Studi di Verona
Founded in 1982, the University of Verona (UNIVR) is a public university with a strong focus on innovation and research, internationally recognised for its expertise in biomedical science and infectious diseases. The affiliated University Hospital is a 1,600-bed medical centre encompassing all medical specialties. UNIVR participates in the PROACT EU-Response project with two departments: The Department of Diagnostics and Public Health and the Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement sciences.
The Department of Diagnostics and Public Health of the University of Verona (UNIVR) focuses on medical diagnosis settings, epidemiology, preventive medicine and public health. Through basic and applied research as well as real world assistance, the Department aims to contribute to the development and improvement of preventive medicine and treatment in the hospital environment and the community.
The Infectious Diseases Section operates under the Department of Diagnostics and Public Health. Its activities are divided between clinical, research and teaching activities under the management of the director of the section Prof. Evelina Tacconelli.
In 2019, Prof. Tacconelli set up a multidisciplinary research centre ID-CARE (https://www.id-care.net/) which comprises both hospital and university staff with diverse backgrounds – infectious diseases, microbiology, bioinformatics, clinical microbiology, psychology, pharmacy, epidemiology and project management. The section coordinates and participates in numerous national and international projects funded by a wide range of programmes, including WHO, GARDP, IMI, Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe, JPI-AMR, AIFA, and ESCMID. Research areas include the treatment of severe infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, optimisation of surveillance systems, antibiotic and diagnostic stewardship, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission and burden, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and public health. The ID-CARE team is also specialised in the conduct of clinical studies with specific reference to cohort studies on Infectious Diseases with Epidemic or Pandemic Potential.
The Section of Clinical Psychology operates under the Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences. Its actions are divided between research, clinical and teaching activities under the management of the director of the Section Prof. Lidia Del Piccolo. Research areas include the development and validation of medical interview classification systems and the development of doctor-patient interaction analysis methods; the evaluation of information needs of patients in different medical settings and of shared decision-making processes; risk management; healthcare providers wellbeing; observational studies and clinical trials, by using both qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches. Clinical activity is devoted to inpatients hospitalized at the University Hospital of Verona and outpatient requiring psychopathological evaluation, intervention and psychological support in comorbidity with organic pathologies, their family members, or the medical staff, for whom advice is offered regarding the management of difficult situations related to relational and communication aspects. Teaching regards both undergraduate or post-graduate students and health providers training.
For more information, visit: www.univr.it
University College London
London, United Kingdom

University College London
Founded in 1826, University College London (UCL) is a public research university located in London, England.
UCL is a member institution of the federal University of London and is the second-largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment. It is London’s leading multidisciplinary university, with over 18,000 staff and 51,000 students from more than 150 countries.
Recognised as one of the world’s top universities, UCL demonstrates broad disciplinary excellence in research, innovation, education, and societal impact. In the UK’s 2021 research assessment, UCL ranked second for research strength, supported in part by its Faculty of Life Sciences, home to one of Europe’s most successful and productive biomedical research communities.
For more information, visit: www.ucl.ac.uk
University College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland

University College Dublin
Established in 1854, University College Dublin (UCD) is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities, the national leader in Ireland in research funding, and is ranked within the top 1% of higher education institutions worldwide. UCD sets up an environment where undergraduate education, master’s and PhD training, research, innovation, and community engagement form a dynamic and integrated spectrum of activity. UCD is also Ireland’s most globally engaged university, with over 38,000 students from 152 countries, including more than 5,000 students based at international locations outside Ireland.
UCD has prioritised Infectious Diseases as one of its major themes and has more specifically built a strong research base in Translational Medicine and Infectious Diseases research strategically aligned across human and non-human research under a ‘One Health’ approach which forms a key strategic initiative in UCD Strategic Plan 2030.
The Centre for Experimental Pathogen Host Research (CEPHR), established in 2019 at the UCD School of Medicine under the directorship of Prof Patrick Mallon, is one of the few academic research centres in Europe, and the only centre of its kind in Ireland, that integrates host and pathogen research in a single centre.
Through national and international collaborations, CEPHR has exploited emerging funding opportunities in personalised medicine and stratification of infectious diseases. CEPHR has received funding from the major national research funders (Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland), the European Union (H2020) and the US NIH, alongside partnerships with several pharmaceutical partners.
CEPHR has access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure distributed across 2 clinical hubs (St. Vincent’s University Hospital, and Mater Misericordiae University Hospital) and 1 core research laboratory facility including Biosafety Level 2 and 3 laboratories, a fully equipped biomolecular laboratory, sample processing and biobanking facilities (including liquid nitrogen cryopreservation) at the main UCD campus. Additionally, CEPHR has 220 square meters of office space, including dedicated research Project Management and Data management offices, to accommodate 50+ Staff.
For more information, visit: www.ucd.ie
European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN)
Paris, France

European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN)
The European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN) is a sustainable, not-for-profit, distributed infrastructure with the legal status of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC).
ECRIN provides support for the planning and implementation of multinational clinical research projects in Europe. It currently has thirteen Member and Observer Countries (current Member Countries include the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland), covering around 80% of the EU population.
ECRIN provides services for the management of multinational investigator-initiated and SME-sponsored trials; central services (data management, central vigilance), and distributed services provided by the ECRIN partner in each country involved (regulatory and ethical submissions and follow-up, monitoring, local vigilance, etc.).
As part of its trial support activities, ECRIN develops and maintains freely accessible tools such as databases on regulatory and ethical requirements, outcome measures, risk-based monitoring tools, as well as the certification of data centres.
ECRIN contributes to and coordinates infrastructure development projects aimed at establishing new and joint services for biomedical research. These projects span several research areas, such as: sharing and secondary use of health data in the context of the EOSC (EOSC-Life, EOSC-Hub); methods and cooperation in personalised medicine (PERMIT, EULAC-PerMed); management of paediatric clinical trials (PedCRIN); development of a European network for clinical infectious disease research (ECRAID-Plan); and the creation of tools for the establishment and management of platform trials (EU-PEARL).
For more information, visit: www.ecrin.org
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Lyon, France

Hospices Civils de Lyon
Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL) is the second-largest university hospital network in France, bringing together 13 multidisciplinary or specialised establishments and offering a wide range of services and expertise across all medical and surgical disciplines. HCL is ranked among the 25 best hospitals in the world. HCL represents 24,000 professionals, including more than 5,000 doctors, and manages over 1.8 million consultations annually.
For over 200 years, as a network with recognised expertise in all areas of healthcare, HCL has provided comprehensive human, technical, and logistical resources to support care, training, research, medical innovation, disease prevention, and health education. HCL is also particularly involved in international hospital cooperation, developing numerous joint healthcare projects with foreign institutions. This international outlook reflects a deliberate decision to extend the hospital’s care, research and training missions beyond national borders, while enabling the various players involved in this cooperation to share their know-how and knowledge.
Within the HCL, the National Reference Centre for viruses from respiratory infectious diseases (CNR-Vi), initially involved in DisCoVeRy, has continued to serve as virology referent, to monitor viral loads and to work on harmonisation of results within the European project EU-RESPONSE.
Fully engaged in different crises preparedness projects, it is now leader of a workstream in PROACT EU-RESPONSE. The CNR-Vi aims to track the evolution of respiratory viruses and to alert in case of the emergence of a new variant of an existing virus or a new virus. In the event of a pandemic, the CNR-Vi is one of the first actors involved in establishing diagnostics and has the expertise required to assess the pathogenicity of the respiratory emerging virus and the estimated impact on the population in collaboration with the Health Authorities.
For more information, visit: www.chu-lyon.fr / Centre National de Référence virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe et le SARS-CoV-2) | #TeamHCL – Hospices Civils de Lyon
bioMérieux SA
Marcy-l’Étoile, France

bioMérieux SA
Founded in 1963, bioMérieux SA is a French multinational biotechnology company headquartered in Marcy-l’Étoile, near Lyon, France.
BioMérieux operates in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries through an extensive network of distributors.
BioMérieux provides comprehensive diagnostic solutions, including reagents, instruments, software, and related services, that help identify the source of disease and contamination. Its mission is to enhance patient health and ensure consumer safety across multiple sectors.
The company’s products are primarily used in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, cancer screening, disease monitoring, and the management of cardiovascular emergencies. Additionally, bioMérieux offers solutions for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products.
For more information, visit: https://www.biomerieux.com/fr/fr.html
Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris
Paris, France

Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris
Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) is the largest teaching hospital center in Europe, comprising 38 hospitals and hospital groups (16,673 beds), primarily located in Paris and its surrounding suburbs. Each year, it provides care to approximately 8 million patients, including 1.36 million hospitalizations—representing 10% of all hospitalizations in France. AP-HP is also the largest employer in the Paris region, with over 100,000 staff members across more than 210 professional roles.
The institution employs more than 19,000 medical professionals, including 3,000 hospital physicians, 1,000 professors, and over 8,497 residents and medical students. AP-HP covers all major medical specialties.
As a public health institution, AP-HP is dedicated to three core missions: delivering healthcare, providing medical and paramedical education, and conducting biomedical and clinical research. Its teams engage in high-quality research, including numerous European and international projects. AP-HP coordinates or participates in more than 80 European research initiatives funded by the European Union’s Research and Technological Development Programme.
AP-HP is also recognized as the leading biomedical research center in Europe, with more than 500 clinical trials and over 8,000 scientific publications annually—accounting for 25% of all medical research publications in France. It is the top sponsor of clinical trials in both France and Europe. The Clinical Research and Innovation Delegation (DRCI) oversees the management, compliance, and safety of all research activities, ensuring adherence to good clinical practices.
For more information, visit: https://www.aphp.fr/
European Patients’ Forum
Etterbeek, Belgium

European Patients’ Forum
The European Patients’ Forum (EPF) is the leading voice of patient organisations in Europe.
EPF leads patient advocacy in Europe, providing a cross-disease perspective from a broad patient community to the policy-making process on issues that have a direct impact on patients’ lives. It acts as an intermediary between the patient community and EU policymakers by offering a crucial cross-disease viewpoint, grounded in national and regional contexts.
EPF represents its members, as well as patients with chronic conditions, occasional patients, and their carers, by working with EU stakeholders and expert groups, who regard EPF as a reliable and trusted partner.
It brings together people, knowledge, and expertise to strengthen the capacity and capability of patients to play an active role in all aspects of their treatment and care. EPF also supports a broader movement to ensure all European citizens have access to affordable health and social care.
The organisation works to prioritise health literacy and patient empowerment, while advocating for transformative change across the healthcare landscape.
For more information, visit: www.eu-patient.eu
Collectif No FakeMed
Cabestany, France

Collectif No FakeMed
Founded as an association in May 2018, the Collectif No Fakemed is made up of healthcare professionals with a wide variety of specialties and practices.
The Collectif No Fakemed believes that medicine must adapt its practices to the facts.
It seeks to disseminate these facts through scientific popularization, such as YouTube videos, blogs, and social media.
The objectives of the Collectif No Fakemed are:
- Promoting medicine, care, and therapies based on scientific evidence.
- Supporting and defending those who promote them.
- To inform professionals and the public about medicine, care, and therapies based on scientific evidence.
- To actively fight against unscientific, deviant, harmful, alienating, or sectarian healthcare practices.
For more information, visit: https://nofakemed.fr/
NILE – Vaccination et Lien Social
France

NILE – Vaccination et Lien Social
Vaccination et Lien Social is a think tank, born from a shared desire of Open Rome (a health and environment research and engineering firm, created in 1987) and Nile (a public affairs agency dedicated to healthcare actors), whose main objective is to reconcile France with the idea of
vaccination.
Because it is not possible to ignore the growing skepticism of citizens, both patients and health professionals, towards health products, health authorities, the return to “natural” products, etc. It is necessary to question the population’s understanding of the challenges of vaccination and how to provide reassuring elements for citizens.
Vaccination et Lien Social pursues the following objectives:
- To provide simple, accurate, rational, scientific, and consensual information to people who sincerely doubt about vaccination.
- To occupy the internet space with a coalition of e-health actors to disseminate information.
- To indirectly destabilize the anti-vaxxer conspiracy.
Vaccination et Lien Social helps make scientific information related to vaccination accessible to everyone.
Vaccination et Lien Social creates and maintains a community of influencers on social media, which can be mobilized at any time.
Vaccination et Lien Social disseminates relevant information using social media and other relevant organizations to promote the vaccine among the population.
Vaccination et Lien Social uses new resources such as public health data management and artificial intelligence to better share the major benefits of vaccination.
More information available at: https://vls.direct/
Les Markabiens
France

Les Markabiens
Created in July 2020 by citizens and cyberactivists already involved in various associations and collectives, the Association Les Markabiens aims to combat all forms of cult-related abuse, including those occurring in the health sector.
The association focuses on prevention, raising awareness among institutions, and disseminating news related to cult abuses. It also campaigns against censorship and reprisals targeting critics of cult organisations, gurus, and other charlatans.
Les Markabiens seeks to alert content publishers and social media platforms to the serious issue posed by the censorship of activists working to expose cult-related abuse.
The association also hosts the largest French-language archival database on cult-related abuses.
For more information, visit: https://prevensectes.me/
University of Galway
Galway, Ireland

University of Galway
Founded in 1845, the University of Galway is located in Galway, Ireland. It hosts nearly 19,000 students, including 3,300 international students, and employs 480 international staff from 122 countries.
The university delivers teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines—arts and humanities, social sciences, business, law, science, engineering, medicine, and health sciences—through four colleges, 19 schools, five research institutes, and multiple research centres and clusters.
The Insight Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway is Ireland’s leading data analytics research centre. Its Health Promotion Research Centre is recognised by both the World Health Organization and CURAM, while the Centre for Medical Device Research is ranked as the top institute of its kind in Ireland.
The University of Galway maintains 1,380 partnerships with universities worldwide, including 200 in 25 EU countries and 180 in 15 countries beyond Europe.
For more information, visit: www.universityofgalway.ie
INSERM Transfert SA
Paris, France

INSERM Transfert SA
Founded in 2000, Inserm Transfert is the private subsidiary of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), dedicated to technology transfer (i.e. from invention disclosure to industrial partnership).
Inserm Transfert runs a comprehensive set of technology transfer activities, ranging from classical value chain operations to unique solutions:
- Scouting and intellectual property management, with a philosophy of giving a chance to all innovations. The portfolio included 1,673 patent families in 2017.
- Early development and proof-of-concept support for therapeutics and diagnostics (biomarkers), with a philosophy of maximum consolidation of the earliest phases. More than €15 million has been invested since 2009, with the objective of creating value. Inserm Transfert runs a €2 million proof-of-concept fund per year. In 2017, 281 projects were identified and around 400 contracts and licences were signed.
- Setting up public–private partnerships involving cohorts, databases, biobanks, and public health management. The Collaborative Research Funding department of Inserm Transfert (formerly named European Affairs Department) supports the set-up and management of large-scale biomedical research projects, notably in infectious diseases, epidemiology, and public health.
For more information, visit: www.inserm-transfert.fr
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Paris, France

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Created in October 1939, just weeks after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) has over 80 years of experience in basic research.
Its work spans the living world, space, matter, and human societies. CNRS draws on all fields of science to address today’s complex global challenges, working in close collaboration with organizations on the ground.
CNRS is a strong advocate for a knowledge-based society and open science, deeply anchored in its time. It promotes the broad dissemination of knowledge and scientific culture, and supports policymakers in shaping evidence-based public policies.
With a budget of €4 billion, the CNRS employs approximately 34,700 people, including 29,400 scientists, and operates more than 1,100 research laboratories in France and abroad.
For more information, visit: https://www.cnrs.fr/en
Universiteit Antwerpen
Antwerp, Belgium

Universiteit Antwerpen
Established in 2003 through the merger of three smaller institutions (UFSIA, RUCA, and UIA), the University of Antwerp is a major public university located in the city of Antwerp, Belgium.
With approximately 20,000 students, the university offers 34 academic bachelor’s programmes, 83 master’s programmes, 26 advanced master’s programmes, and 21 postgraduate programmes. The University of Antwerp is committed to making a valuable contribution to the development, dissemination, and application of scientific knowledge.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences promotes public health through education, research, and service, grounded in transparency and evidence-based practice. It fosters an open, interdisciplinary approach to medicine and healthcare.
The Faculty of Science organises, coordinates, and promotes academic education, scientific research, and services in disciplines including bioscience engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics-informatics.
For more information, visit: www.uantwerpen.be
University of Lancaster
Lancaster, United Kingdom

University of Lancaster
Established in 1964 by royal charter, the University of Lancaster is a public research university located in Lancaster, England. It is internationally recognised for excellence in both teaching and research, offering over 500 programmes at foundation, undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD levels.
The university comprises nine colleges and four faculties, with a student body of approximately 15,397, including 5,492 international students from over 100 countries. It employs 1,456 academic staff.
The Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University – 3rd in the world for Linguistics in the 2025 QS rankings – has a long-standing tradition of interdisciplinary research on the use of language in communication about health and illness. The Department hosts the ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science, which applies the computer-aided methods of corpus linguistics to the analysis of large textual datasets reflecting experiences of illness and healthcare, including in relation to cancer, pain, mental health, infectious diseases and vaccinations.
For more information, visit: www.lancaster.ac.uk
University of Bristol
Bristol, United Kingdom

University of Bristol
Founded in 1876, the University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, England.
The university is dedicated to academic excellence across a broad range of disciplines and is composed of 25 academic schools organised into six faculties: Arts, Engineering, Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Science, and Social Sciences and Law.
The University of Bristol has approximately 30,660 students, including 10,765 international students from more than 150 countries, and a staff of over 8,800. It is actively involved in numerous international research collaborations addressing real-world challenges, in partnership with industry, government, and community sectors.
For more information, visit: www.bristol.ac.uk
Medizinische Universität Wien
Vienna, Austria

Medizinische Universität Wien
Established on March 12, 1365 as part of the University of Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Vienna) is one of the oldest medical education and research institutions in Europe. With nearly 8,600 students, it is currently the largest medical training centre in the German-speaking countries.
Through its long history as the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Vienna, MedUni Vienna has developed a strong tradition of teaching and research. Seven Nobel Prize laureates have been affiliated with the medical faculty, and fifteen in total with the University of Vienna.
With more than 6,500 employees, 30 departments and two clinical institutes, 12 medical theory centres, and numerous highly specialised laboratories, it is one of Europe’s leading research institutions in the biomedical field.
For more information, visit: www.meduniwien.ac.at
Stichting Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten (CWI)
Utrecht, The Netherlands

Stichting Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten (CWI)
Founded in 1946, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands. It is located at Amsterdam Science Park and is part of the Institutes Organisation of the Dutch Science Foundation, NWO (NWO-I).
By creating synergy between mathematics and computer science, CWI pursues fundamental and long-term innovation. Our strength is discovering and developing new ideas that benefit society and the economy, as well as other scientific areas. Our research is rooted in practical, real-life questions and explores essential aspects of modern life, including transport and communication networks, internet security, medical imaging and smart energy systems. Our innovations form an integral part of numerous software products, programming languages and international standards.
CWI is at the heart of European research in mathematics and computer science. We take part in Horizon Europe programmes and in projects with international funding. With close ties to industry and the wider academic world, both at home and abroad, we maintain a sharp focus on the bigger picture and real-world issues.
For more information, visit: https://www.nwo-i.nl/en
Universität Basel
Basel, Switzerland

Universität Basel
Founded in 1460, the University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland, with a history of academic excellence spanning over 550 years. Today, it hosts around 13,000 students from more than 100 countries, including 3,000 PhD candidates.
The university comprises seven faculties that cover a broad spectrum of academic disciplines. Consistently ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide, the University of Basel is recognised for its strong research output and international partnerships.
As a research-intensive institution, the University of Basel maintains a high volume of scientific publications and fosters collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
The Medical Faculty, in partnership with the University Hospital and the University Children’s Hospital, provides an integrated research and teaching environment dedicated to the training of future physicians and medical scientists.
For more information, visit: www.unibas.ch/en