The significance of well being safety science to society has by no means been extra obvious.
It’s a tricky job to guard well being from infectious ailments and environmental hazards in an period of accelerating danger of pandemics and different severe threats to well being, however science is a strong power to know and deal with these challenges.
The excellent news is that we now have by no means had higher instruments to safe well being than we do in the present day, with much more thrilling developments coming.
We noticed the artwork of the doable in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic with genomic information permitting the fast identification and characterisation of variants enabling fast growth and analysis of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.
The world had by no means seen such a fast development and deployment of protected and efficient vaccines which saved hundreds of thousands of lives permitting us to return to higher normality.
Past COVID-19, we all know that science will assist us to safe well being from different present and future challenges.
Our local weather is altering, which can exacerbate a variety of threats together with the danger of different pandemics. Hazards like air air pollution and antimicrobial resistance price many lives and improve the burden on our already stretched NHS.
So the higher we’re at making use of our scientific abilities to guard folks from well being threats, the simpler we will likely be at preserving society transferring and decreasing stress on very important public companies.
And we should not overlook that science additionally creates many thrilling profession alternatives and drives innovation making an vital contribution to our nation’s prosperity.
A brand new science technique for UKHSA
At UKHSA science powers every part we achieve this I’m delighted to announce the publication of a new science strategy setting out how we’ll harness the facility of our science to safe well being and prosperity over the following decade.
The technique highlights how UKHSA’s science can save extra lives, safe main public well being victories and contribute to the UK as a worldwide science superpower.
Via our science we will obtain nice issues, however we will’t do it alone.
The pandemic demonstrated what might be achieved when Authorities, business, and academia work collectively, so our technique is targeted on constructing deeper and stronger partnerships. We wish to preserve the spirit of collaboration and momentum from the previous few years to deal with all well being threats.
In addition to investing in our partnerships, to make our imaginative and prescient a actuality we may also put money into our folks and services because the foundations of our science.
The science technique is a vital companion piece to UKHSA’s strategic plan which will likely be printed later this 12 months to supply extra data on our organisational priorities.
UKHSA is a singular organisation. After I speak to folks about our science, I’m extraordinarily proud to focus on a few of the distinctive work that we do and our capabilities.
This consists of our capability to mix science with our experience in operational response and information analytics.
Or our uncommon and distinctive experience and capabilities in excessive containment, dealing with the world’s most harmful pathogens, by way of to our end-to-end vaccine functionality from vaccine growth science to experience in procurement and logistics.
Our science is extremely various. We’re information scientists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, toxicologists, medical entomologists, radiation safety specialists, medics, nurses, geographers, modellers, bioinformaticians, chemists, behavioural scientists, biomedical scientists, biologists, engineers and extra.
And I’m significantly proud that our science is all the time centered on actual world motion. The data and proof that we generate is instantly used to guard well being and in scientific apply, on the NHS entrance line and in our communities.
It additionally informs the strategic coverage recommendation we offer to the best ranges of presidency.
Certainly, the scientific proof we generate is used around the globe due to its high quality.
Be a part of us in our work to safe well being and prosperity
Our new technique units out our ambition to play a higher position than ever in life sciences, nationally and internationally.
In creating our science technique we’ve engaged a variety of companions, most not too long ago internet hosting a profitable business engagement occasion at our Porton Down campus.
We’re open for enterprise and wish to work with companions on shared agendas to guard the general public’s well being.
Over the approaching months and years, we’ll develop longer-term strategic partnerships with academia, business, the NHS and fellow public sector analysis institutions who share our imaginative and prescient.
Our technique additionally reinforces the significance of our folks. We do implausible science right here and we would like UKHSA to be the most effective place on the planet to work as a scientist so we have to retain, appeal to and develop the scientific leaders and workforce of the longer term.
This implies constructing a thriving multidisciplinary neighborhood of scientists with entry to the most effective services, sources, top quality information and know-how that assist them make vital scientific advances.
Please do check out our new strategy on GOV.UK. Should you share our ambition to guard well being, save extra lives and increase the nation’s prosperity by way of science, we stay up for working with you.
