London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

In response to the announcement that the UK is rejoining Horizon Europe under a new agreement, Professor Liam Smeeth, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 
 
"The UK has a well-deserved reputation as a world leading powerhouse in health research, recently demonstrated by the leading role we played in the COVID-19 response globally. The benefits are huge: in health improvement, economic investment and global prestige.  
 
“The lack of agreement to allow the UK to continue to play a full role in the European Union Horizon funding programme severely threatened our continued success. My concern was particularly for the long term. With no new partnerships and collaborations being formed, there was a very real risk of the UK becoming isolated and insular.
 
“I am delighted with this announcement. It’s vital we preserve a full association with EU funding programmes in the long term to ensure the continued success of UK science.”