In this second episode in an exciting podcast series from the GTEC on pandemic preparedness, Peter Openshaw, Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London (and former President of the British Society for Immunology), and special guest Dr Bertalan Meskó, Director of the Medical Futurist Institute, discuss their insights into preparing for an unknown pathogen outbreak.

Our experts describe the increasing role of digital health in pandemic preparedness. Prof. Openshaw and Dr Meskó outline the diagnostic tests needed to be prepared for a pandemic situation and highlight the need for better communication between academia, industry, policymakers and the public.

This podcast was developed by the Global T cell Expert Consortium (GTEC), an initiative set up to bring together experts in T cells, vaccines, immunology and public health worldwide, with the aim of becoming the leading voice in T cell research during and beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GTEC will educate on T cells and vaccine development through the release of publicly available educational content and will foster collaborative research efforts to address the unmet needs and unanswered questions in T cell research and vaccinology. This initiative is sponsored by Oxford Immunotec.

Prof. Openshaw of Imperial College London is participating in this podcast, independently via Imperial Consultants.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly changing situation: the content of this podcast was correct at time of recording in February 2021.