A Cardiff academic will lead a major new study investigating how human behaviour influences the spread of infectious diseases, as part of a £54 million investment from the UK government and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to strengthen the UK's preparedness for future epidemics.
Professor Kavita Vedhara, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, will head a study examining how human behaviour, social settings and public trust affect the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. The research aims to develop new ways to predict, prevent and prepare for future outbreaks.
The work forms part of a larger UK-wide research effort funded through the joint government and UKRI investment, which will support 18 research and innovation projects tackling some of the most pressing biosecurity threats facing human, animal and plant health. These include antimicrobial resistance and the accelerated development of next-generation animal vaccines.
These programmes aim to strengthen our ability to prevent, detect and respond to biological threats affecting people and their livelihoods, wildlife, and ecosystems. Researchers will work with international partners, taking an approach that recognises the links between human, animal and environmental health, and draws on multiple disciplines to tackle complex challenges in a rapidly changing world.
Together, the programmes will help build resilience against emerging biosecurity threats, strengthen prevention and response capabilities, enhance food security, and support sustainable economic growth.
Professor Vedhara said: "Our new research programme hopes to transform our preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics. We will achieve this by uncovering how people's behaviours, their use of social settings and levels of trust influence how respiratory viruses spread."
This information will be incorporated into a new generation of epidemic models, making them better able to reflect real-world transmission and public responses.
"We will also work closely with those involved in shaping public health policy across the UK to ensure that policymakers can design more targeted, effective and equitable measures to control future outbreaks, while also reducing the risks of societal harm we observed in the last pandemic."
UKRI Executive Champion for Tackling Infections and BBSRC Executive Chair, Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, said: "This investment reflects UKRI's central role in delivering government priorities and our long-standing commitment to convening and working with partners across government to fund vital One Health research into human, animal, and plant health."
