VC Professor Shearer West
Reporter: Stuart Littleford – News
An online fundraising appeal to support coronavirus (COVID-19) research and ease student hardship has been launched by the University of Nottingham.
The University is at the forefront of global efforts to understand and control the coronavirus pandemic, with a multidisciplinary team working to find the best vaccine to combat COVID-19, discovering vital new treatments and protecting the world against future outbreaks that could save many thousands of lives.
The University is also supporting students at home, in the EU and internationally, for many of which the coronavirus pandemic has created overwhelming hardship.
Professor Shearer West, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nottingham told Government & Public Sector Journal: “The world has dramatically changed for us all in such a short period of time. I am incredibly proud of the many ways our community is leading the fight against COVID-19.
“Our talented researchers are undertaking essential work to protect us against future outbreaks and develop new treatments to care for those suffering from the disease. Meanwhile our Student Services team is providing urgent support to help ensure the students hit hardest by the financial impact of the pandemic can continue their studies.
“Nottingham is in a unique position to help tackle the pandemic, but access to flexible funding is essential.”
Annually the University allocates over £300,000 to support students through times of hardship and crisis, but is already seeing unprecedented need. More than 200 students have so far applied for emergency financial assistance directly as a result of the pandemic, with 60 requests for help based on anticipated hardship which cannot be supported at this time.
Professor Jonathan Ball is the Director of the University’s Centre for Research on Global Virus Infections.
Professor Jonathan Ball
He said: “We bring together virologists across veterinary and human virology. The University of Nottingham has a leading vet school and a leading medical school – this rare combination allows us to fully understand the dynamic interplay between animal and humans that allows deadly spill over events like the coronavirus outbreak to occur.
“Working with active clinicians means our ideas and inventions can be rapidly progressed to help prevent and treat current and future virus outbreaks.”
Donations of all sizes will have an immediate impact on the University’s response to the crisis, filling gaps in funding to ensure that clinical trials can continue, that supply lines keep moving, and that researchers are able to work at both speed and scale.
Find out more and donate by visiting the University of Nottingham’s COVID-19 research effort fundraising page.
Further information about the work being undertaken across the University can be found on the University’s Response to the Coronavirus webpages
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