Science Diplomacy Video Series
UK, Canada & Global Health
Our #ScienceDiplomacy video series explores how scientific researchers and academics from the UK and Canada are collaborating to address some of the world’s biggest challenges.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented new and growing challenges that underscored the importance of international collaboration.
Scientific experts from the UK and Canada have been engaging in science diplomacy to better understand and respond to COVID-19. Keeping each other informed about the evolving virus by sharing scientific data and updates.
In this video you will hear from:
- Professor Sharon Peacock: Microbiologist and Professor of Public Health and Microbiology the University of Cambridge
- Dr. Mona Nemer: Canada’s Chief Science Advisor
- Professor Carole Mundell: President of the Science Council & Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy at the University of Bath
The three experts share why scientific collaboration between our two countries and the international community is crucial in responding to global health threats like the pandemic.
DID YOU KNOW?
→ UK-Canada joint work on AI analysis of genomics datasets prior to the pandemic ensured we were able to rapidly step-up expert level collaboration on variants of concern when COVID struck.
→ Partnerships such as the Canadian COVID Genomics Network and the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium have been crucial in inform understanding of the virus.
→ Researchers from Simon Fraser University and LSE worked together with other countries to study the impact of COVID-19 on women’s health, social and economic welfare.
Sharon Peacock, CBE FMedSci MRCP
Sharon Jayne Peacock CBE FMedSci MRCP is a British microbiologist who is Professor of Public Health and Microbiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. She is known for her work on the use of microbial whole genome sequencing in diagnostic and public health microbiology, particularly on the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei and on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Dr. Mona Nemer, C.M., C.Q., FRSC
Before becoming the Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Nemer was Professor and Vice-President of Research at the University of Ottawa and Director of the school’s Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from McGill University and did post-doctoral training in molecular biology at the Institut de Recherche Clinique de Montréal and Columbia University.
Professor Carole Mundell
Professor Carole Mundell was the Chief International Science Envoy at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office from January to October 2021. Previously Professor Mundell was Chief Scientific Adviser at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. She is Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy at the University of Bath where she holds the Hiroko Sherwin Chair in Extragalactic Astronomy, and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and President of the Science Council.