Originally established in 1881, with Royal Charter granted in 1948, the University of Nottingham (UNOTT) has a student community in excess of 42 000 drawn from over 140 countries. The University of Nottingham is a research-led university that has consistently ranked among the top 10 UK Universities in the major league tables, and ranked in the World’s Top 100 universities by the QS World University Rankings. It is a truly global university with branch campuses in China and Malaysia.

The Institute for Science and Society was established in 1998 and is one of the leading research centres in Science and Technology Studies (STS) within the UK, Europe and internationally. ISS is based in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham and has close links with research centres in other Faculties, including with the Centre for Applied Bioethics. Established in 1993, the Centre for Applied Bioethics is a leading centre for work on the ethics of medicine and technology.

In VAX-TRUST, the University of Nottingham is a partner in all work packages.