From the very first day we were founded (in 2007), our trailblazing team of scientists and researchers have been committed to highly innovative and disruptive research. Our scientists established much needed diagnostic labs and rapid response capacity in many countries, including Cameroon. These efforts not only directly helped people deal with infectious diseases, they were also key in supercharging our research efforts. Through our collaborations, we initiated projects to better understand the flora and fauna, collected and tested more than 150 000 human and animal samples for their impact on human health, and discovered several novel species. More than two decades later, these forward-thinking efforts and those of our partners have helped pave the way for greater preparedness and important insights into the interconnections that directly affect human health.