Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Department of Immunology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Dis Model Mech. 2022 Aug 1;15(8). doi: 10.1242/dmm.049824. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, there has been renewed scientific and public focus on understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and investigating vaccines and therapies to combat them. In addition to the tragic toll of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we also recognize increased threats from antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, the effects of climate change on the prevalence and spread of human pathogens, and the recalcitrance of other infectious diseases - including tuberculosis, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and fungal infections - that continue to cause millions of deaths annually. Large amounts of funding have rightly been redirected toward vaccine development and clinical trials for COVID-19, but we must continue to pursue fundamental and translational research on other pathogens and host immunity. Now more than ever, we need to support the next generation of researchers to develop and utilize models of infectious disease that serve as engines of discovery, innovation and therapy.
在当前的 COVID-19 大流行期间，人们重新将科学和公众的注意力集中在了解传染病的发病机制上，并研究疫苗和疗法来对抗这些疾病。除了严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 的惨痛代价外，我们还认识到抗生素耐药菌株的威胁增加，气候变化对人类病原体的流行和传播的影响，以及其他传染病（包括结核病、疟疾、人类免疫缺陷病毒 (HIV) 和真菌感染）的顽固性，这些传染病每年仍导致数百万人死亡。大量资金已被正确地重新用于 COVID-19 的疫苗开发和临床试验，但我们必须继续对其他病原体和宿主免疫进行基础和转化研究。现在比以往任何时候都更需要支持下一代研究人员开发和利用传染病模型，这些模型是发现、创新和治疗的引擎。
