Director’s Message

Profile of Marco Salemi in front of the Emerging Pathogens Institute building.

Welcome to the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI)

Founded in 2006, the EPI is an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to understanding why pathogenic microorganisms emerge – and re-emerge – as significant causes of disease. We study human, animal, and plant pathogens, with work ranging from basic molecular genetic studies to in-vitro and in-vivo assessments of pathogen characteristics, transmission, clinical manifestations, treatment, and disease prevention. As the recent COVID pandemic so dramatically demonstrated, pathogens are constantly evolving, often with the potential to cause global disease outbreaks.

The EPI serves as a source of scientific excellence for Florida, the United States, and the world. It provides a multifaceted environment in which we can gain an optimal understanding of the factors that drive the emergence of pathogens and develop knowledge critical to disease prevention and control.

In keeping with its status as a multidisciplinary research institute, the EPI is not part of an existing UF college; instead, the institute reports administratively to the UF Vice President for Research. Faculty from any college can become members, and all UF students can actively participate in research activities. The magnitude of the institute speaks through its vast membership of over 250 faculty-level members from 13 UF colleges. Members include microbiologists, physicians, veterinarians, public health specialists, mathematical modelers, genetic bioinformaticians, entomologists, biologists, plant pathologists, and medical geographers.

The Emerging Pathogens Institute is located adjacent to UF Health Shands Hospital, UF’s flagship teaching hospital, and the six health science colleges, including the small and large animal hospitals of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. This ideal positioning gives our EPI researchers immediate access to patients (both two-legged and four-legged) and clinicians. Florida’s tropical climate provides a unique environment for studying tropical diseases, including vector-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. Most importantly, in collaboration with UF IFAS and the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, the EPI is a hub for innovative research on farming animals and agricultural infectious diseases central to our state’s economy. The spread of pathogens, however, is not constrained by state or national borders, so the EPI also has a robust international presence, with field sites and collaborators in the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Activities are concentrated in the EPI building, which houses over 50 faculty members and their students and laboratories. In addition to the core building, there is an adjacent building for work with fish and shellfish pathogens: the Aquatic Pathology Laboratory. The core building includes specialized biocontainment facilities and dedicated bioinformatics space. The Institute is also home to the CDC Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Diseases, the CDC Southeastern National Tuberculosis Center (SNTC), and the Southern HIV and Alcohol Research Consortium (SHARC).

The EPI is an exciting workplace with world-class research projects and great opportunities for faculty and students. As you browse the EPI website, you will get a sense of our current activities, and we look forward to having you join us on our research journey.

Marco Salemi, Ph.D.

Interim Director, Emerging Pathogens Institute