A YORK academic is leading preclinical research to help to determine the characteristics of coronavirus and to test new potential vaccines.

Professor S.S. Vasan, who holds an honorary chair in Health Sciences at the University of York, will be the principal investigator of this project for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

A spokesperson said CEPI had announced funding for critical new research as part of a rapid global response, following the declaration from the World Health Organisation that the Wuhan novel coronavirus outbreak was a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”.

"Undertaken at the highly secure CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, this preclinical research will help to determine the characteristics of the current virus (a key step in developing a new vaccine) and to test new potential vaccines being developed by three different CEPI-led consortia.

"Prof Vasan leads the CSIRO Dangerous Pathogens Team, which will design and undertake this crucial preclinical research, development and evaluation."

Prof Vasan said: “CSIRO and CEPI are working to complete the preclinical evaluation of candidate vaccines in the shortest possible time.

"In parallel, there is a need to accelerate the development and evaluation of therapeutics to complement vaccines.

"This is a marathon and we have just started, therefore it is important to relay in a collaborative manner with researchers around the world.”

Prof Vasan said he hoped these issues would be the focus of the WHO’s ‘Global research and innovation forum to finalise the roadmap for the 2019 novel Coronavirus’, in which he would be participating soon. The spokesperson said that in addition to the Wuhan novel coronavirus, Prof Vasan and his team were also carrying out vital preclinical studies on other deadly diseases such as Ebola and Nipah.

Meanwhile, the university said it had been receiving a large number of calls from worried parents, students and staff following the news of a confirmed case of coronavirus in the city.

But the deputy registrar, Heidi Fraser-Krauss, said it was continuing to operate normally, while monitoring the situation closely and providing as much advice, care and support to the university community as possible.