The COVID-19 experience has challenged us in ways that were often beyond our imagination. On the other hand, it has also taught us to adapt rapidly, and unleashed new waves of creativity, agility, and collaboration. If we are to thrive in the new normal and build a future that is more secure from inevitable future pandemic threats, we must seek out opportunities to learn from our collective experience. Furthermore, there will certainly be more pandemics as our history over the last 10 years indicates – we encountered SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola virus in 2014. With such a trend, it is imperative for us to prepare ourselves and our community to face the challenges posed by such novel pathogens.

The Center for Emerging Pathogens at USC (CEP) was founded in response to a growing need within our communities for expert guidance in pandemic preparedness and response. This is a platform to coalesce USC’s multidisciplinary strength and leverage our clinical and academic expertise to support our communities as they navigate through this pandemic and prepare for the next novel pathogen causing such a pandemic.

Neha Nanda, MDThe mission of the Center of Emerging Pathogens (CEP) is to create a safe and healthy community by serving populations across the world including vulnerable communities. Our motto is ‘Collaborate to Prepare for a Safe & Healthy Tomorrow.

For more information, please visit www.centerforemergingpathogens.usc.edu.