Infectious disease

Infectious diseases rank among the world’s leading killers. The Broad pioneers and leverages the most advanced tools in genomics, the data sciences, and other fields to better understand pathogen biology, the interplay between host cells and pathogens, and the mechanisms driving infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance. We are also creating pandemic prevention and surveillance systems, developing advanced AI tools to accelerate diagnostic design, and pioneering new approaches to identifying potential new antimicrobial treatments.

In 2020, the Broad partnered with the Institute of Genomics and Global Health in Nigeria to launch Sentinel, a pandemic prevention system that empowers local and regional public health workers to detect and monitor disease threats by integrating genomic data and advanced analytics. This model has helped frontline healthcare workers and public health leaders in Nigeria and Sierra Leone combat COVID-19, mpox, and Lassa fever. Elsewhere in Africa, Sentinel has supported efforts to tackle outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg virus, and other infectious diseases. Designed as a flexible, scalable system, Sentinel is now being expanded to other countries in Africa.

In parallel, Broad scientists are investigating the complex interactions between pathogens and the human hosts that determine why people become infected, how disease progresses, and ultimately patient outcomes. The Center for Integrated Solutions to Infectious Diseases (CISID) brings together a community of physician-scientists and investigators from the Broad and our partner hospitals to answer the fundamental questions about infectious disease by learning directly from patients and develop powerful new weapons—laboratory tools, rapid diagnostics, and promising drug leads—to ensure that these research efforts have an immediate impact on patients.