Infectious disease outbreaks are spreading faster than ever, yet the international surveillance that could help us monitor and prevent them remains fragmented.
To help close critical gaps in global infectious disease surveillance, a new international infrastructure is being established at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) with partner nodes at University of Copenhagen, Statens Serum Institute, and Imperial College London. The Novo Nordisk Foundation is funding the infrastructure with up to DKK 200 million.
The Global Pathogen Analysis Platform (GPAP) infrastructure will give scientists and public health authorities worldwide free access to cutting-edge tools for detecting, tracking, and analysing infectious diseases with help from advanced bioinformatics and artificial intelligence.
"The upcoming platform will perform an incredibly important task. Future global pandemics can only be countered if researchers and authorities across national borders work together and share data," says Anders Bjarklev, President of DTU.
"It makes sense to base the initiative at the Technical University of Denmark, which has extensive research experience in creating global solutions in health technology, including in areas of the world with limited technological capacity. This experience has been built up by current and former researchers such as Henrik Wegener, Frank Aarestrup, and René Henriksen, who will all be part of GPAP."
Stopping health threats before they go from local to global
Many infectious diseases spread between humans, animals and the environment, and tackling them effectively requires an integrated approach.
Building on existing platforms and expertise, GPAP will be designed as a secure online infrastructure. It will enable the integration of genomic data on different types of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites with other types of data. This could include data on climate, human mobility and food trade.
"With the establishment of GPAP, we will get a secure, AI-powered data infrastructure that can deliver valuable support to researchers and public health authorities globally while being independent of commercial interests. The infrastructure will be free to use and specifically designed to meet the needs of low- and middle-income countries that currently lack access to such technology," says Lene Oddershede, Chief Scientific Officer, Planetary Science & Technology at the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
By integrating and sharing different types of data, it will be easier to understand and act on current and future health threats.
"It is crucial that we detect and respond to new health threats as quickly and as locally as possible. If we can stop an outbreak of an infectious disease before it goes from local to global level, we can prevent future pandemics," says Henrik C. Wegener, who will be heading GPAP.
AI-tools will help lower the technical barriers for users
The adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement in May 2025 underscored the urgent need for countries to share data and strengthen preparedness through equitable access to advanced technologies.
A key advantage of GPAP is the integrated, pre-trained AI-tools that make advanced analysis accessible without requiring users to build their own models. These AI features will help interpret complex genomic data, generate automated summaries of results, and act as a digital co-pilot for scientists and public health authorities.
This will enable more users to participate in genomic surveillance and provide faster, more accurate insights to detect and respond to emerging threats. Also, the users of GPAP will be retaining full control and ownership over their data.
Co-creation with global users
To ensure that GPAP is designed to match the needs of the users, the platform will be co-created in collaboration with users in low- and middle-income countries. This will be done through testing at so-called activator sites.
"Activator sites will act as pilot hubs, making sure the platform is practical, user-friendly, and tailored to real-world needs. By providing feedback and contributing data, they will help shape GPAP from the very beginning, while also building local capacity to detect and respond to outbreaks more effectively," concludes Henrik Wegener.
