In mid-July, GloPID-R convened its members, scientists who had received COVID-19 funding, and world leaders in pandemic preparedness and response for a series of COVID-19 Research Synergies Meetings with the purpose of establishing collaboration and identifying knowledge gaps, in order to build a collective path forward to end COVID-19. GloPID-R is an international consortium of 29 funding organisations invested in research related to new or re-emerging infectious diseases [1]. By offering a coordination platform, GloPID-R aims to maximise the use of available resources and streamline research efforts amongst national and global funders. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation to the health and economies of countries across the world and has highlighted basic inequalities in society. Understanding the fundamentals of COVID-19 and building on a collaborative approach between researchers and institutions to achieve health equity, universal access and data sharing is critical to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.