Pitt, Carnegie Mellon join global network to expedite research

Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh are joining 19 other leading research institutions around the world in an effort to accelerate research in the next five to 10 years on global health issues such as cancer and infectious disease.

Spokesmen for Wellcome Leap, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization armed with $300 million in seed money, said the Leap network wants to produce innovative solutions to vexing global health challenges in record time by cutting through months of red tape, which often stalls research and collaboration at the starting gate.

Leap CEO Dr. Regina E. Dugan, a former head of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said Leap aims to expedite promising unconventional research.

“Science and engineering should move at the pace of breakthroughs, not the pace of contracting. Wellcome Leap has removed traditional obstacles to build a network that can mobilize and synchronize to solve problems in human health faster than has ever been possible,” Dugan said in a statement announcing the launch of the research network.

Leap officials pointed to the covid-19 pandemic as one of many challenges underscoring the need for such efforts.

The network includes academic and research institutes on six continents, in cities ranging from Sao Paulo to Singapore. Other U.S. institutions participating in the effort include Harvard, MIT, Cal Tech, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt.

Officials at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon welcomed the opportunity to become charter members.

“This cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to research is the defining element of CMU’s ability to innovate and do work that matters,” said Michael McQuade, Carnegie Mellon vice president for research.

Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said the network is a good fit for Pitt.

“The University of Pittsburgh is proud to play our part in this extraordinary opportunity. With our deep bench of health sciences innovators and bioengineering pioneers, Pitt can and will help fuel this ambitious global push to realize breakthroughs for society’s gain,” Gallagher said.

The network was founded by the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation in health research.