The centre is globally renowned for its research and policy guidance on the control of infectious diseases that contribute most to ill-health and premature death worldwide. The overall aim is to contribute to the undertaking, planning and evaluation of public health programmes that tackle infectious diseases having the greatest impact on health worldwide.

Our interests span from the fundamental process of infection and transmission in different settings worldwide, to evaluating the costs and impact of interventions and the formulation of recommendations for policy setting at national and international levels. Our work includes close engagement with country programmes, contributing to supranational policy direction and normative guideline setting, methods development, and contributing to domestic and international advocacy. We maintain close links with major international stakeholders and funders and contribute to the work of the WHO Collaborating Centre hosted by the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.