We are a global federation of clinical research networks, providing a proficient, coordinated, and agile research response to outbreak-prone infectious diseases. ISARIC is a global initiative aiming to ensure that clinical researchers have the open access protocols and data-sharing processes needed to facilitate a rapid response to emerging diseases that may turn into epidemics or pandemics. Gathering over 70 networks involved in research related to the outbreaks of diseases such as bird flu (H5N1), swine flu (H1N1) and SARS, the consortium is trying to understand the causes of severe acute respiratory diseases, discover how illnesses develop and progress in patients, and identify the most efficient treatments and the best way to prevent further transmission. With an overreaching ambition to change the way in which research is carried out during and between epidemics, ISARIC aims to address the social and ethical issues related to this paradigm change. Following its launch in December 2011, ISARIC has been established with an online presence as well as a physical presence in its Secretariat (14 May 2012), based at the Centre of Tropical Medicine, Oxford. In its first quarter, more than seventy networks and consortia of over 30 countries across six continents expressed an interest in the work of ISARIC, many of which have joined meetings, calls, and teleconferences.
