22th April is Earth Day. As important as clinical research, at OUCRU, we are also committed to promoting environmental activities and encouraging a culture of sustainability. Our initiatives include a dedicated Green Team and several activities, one of which is the Green Day event. The OUCRU Green Team is a group of passionate volunteers who work tirelessly to equip our office with eco-friendly systems and inspire staff to adopt environmentally sustainable lifestyles.
The Malariaworld exhibition has been developed for World Malaria Day 2024 to raise awareness of malaria and malaria research. We highlight some of the Nuffield Department of Medicine\u2019s contributions to malaria research. Come and visit our exhibition at the John Radcliffe Academic Centre, 22-29 April 2024.
Global Health research at the University of Oxford and its partners is broad reaching, bringing significant impact across all academic disciplines of medicine, the physical and life sciences, social sciences and humanities. The Diagnostics in Tropical and Infectious Disease (DiTi) award, run by the Translational Research Office, aims to strengthen the long-term partnership between Oxford University and Mahidol University by establishing partnerships and supporting collaborative projects to develop diagnostic devices for tropical and infectious diseases, with the goal of driving more translational research initiatives in global health. \r\nRead this interview from award winner Dr Chris Chew.
The objectives of the dengue group over the last 20 years have been to improve the diagnosis and management of dengue and to facilitate and enhance disease prevention strategies at a local, regional and global level.
An updated systematic search and review of published information from over 4,000 malaria samples has identified areas in central, eastern and north-eastern India where treatment-resistant malaria parasites could be more prevalent.
A recent study published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine has validated a novel biomarker that accurately predicts preterm births. The research represents an important advancement in the early detection and management of preterm labour risks, with potential implications for improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes in the Southeast Asian region.
New research by the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, explores the potential benefits of a presumptive lateral flow rapid diagnostic test in managing acute non-malarial febrile illness (NMFI) patient care in rural areas of Southeast Asia.
It has been well-documented that healthcare workers were significantly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. They faced increased risks, shortage of protective equipment, heavy workloads, and severe mental distress. However, most existing studies explored healthcare workers\u2019 experiences at the individual level rather than examining the collective responses. Exploring these experiences can highlight the local culture and social influence during the pandemic and point out system limits during public health crises.
In the 1st week of April each year, the global community comes together to celebrate health workers, the backbone of the health industry and society. This year, the theme is #SafeSupportedHealthWorkers. The Frontline Health Workers Coalition and its partners are leading the effort. The goal is to unite advocates, health workers, leaders, and communities worldwide to call for investment, protection, and support for the health workforce. This is especially important in low\u2014and middle-income countries.
Social workers play an important role in complex and fast-paced environments like hospitals. They support hospital staff, patients, and carers professionally, physically, and mentally.
OUCRU, in collaboration with KPMG Vietnam, recently led a delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health (DoH) on a visit to the United Kingdom. This visit is a part of a UK-funded strategic initiative to support the DoH in developing Ho Chi Minh City as a health innovation hub for Vietnam and the region.
Members of OUCRU\u2019s Tuberculosis group have contributed to the World Health Organization's latest edition of the tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic handbook. The \"WHO operational handbook on tuberculosis\" is an important resource for the rapid detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB).
Since obtaining her PhD from the University of Oxford in 2017, Dr Vu Thi Lan Huong has charted a transformative journey, rising to spearhead the Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) programme. Currently, as the Senior Research Fellow at OUCRU Ha Noi, she has dedicated her career to unravelling the complexities of this silent but deadly threat.
An analysis of over 11,000 falciparum malaria individual patient data sets has found that acutely malnourished children have a higher risk of reinfections and treatment failures, even when treated with recommended doses of artemisinin-based combination therapies, currently the best malaria treatment available. The malaria parasite clearance was also likely to be longer in these children.
Green Templeton College proudly marked #InternationalWomensDay2024 by honouring fourteen exceptional women through a series of nine stunning portraits including two members of the Health Systems Collaborative (HSC).
OUCRU and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust have partnered to deliver a specialised training program in critical care medicine at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Ha Noi) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Ho Chi Minh City).
Bachtiar Andy Musaffa (Andy) stands at the intersection of data management and human leadership\u2014a place where numbers meet the nuanced complexities of team dynamics. As the Senior Research Data Manager at OUCRU Indonesia, Andy is not only at the helm of organising critical clinical trial data and developing databases but also at the core of leading a diverse team through the highs and lows of intensive research environments.
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit\u2019s host and partner in Ho Chi Minh City, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, was recently honoured with the Vietnam 2023 Medical Achievement Award at an event hosted by Voice of Ho Chi Minh City (VoH).
Led by Benjamin Tsofa and Jacob McKnight, the project named \"A Novel Extreme Weather Risk Insurance System for Kenya (NEWRISK)\u201d will focus on using the latest methods to provide focused data on extreme weather, population vulnerability, and health system capacity readiness across various climatic zones in Kenya.
Dr Suwarti began her journey with OUCRU Indonesia in 2018 as an awardee of the OUCRU Young Scientist Fellowship programme, when she embarked on a research journey into leptospirosis, a neglected tropical disease. Her curiosity and commitment to improving health outcomes have seen her research interests expand to the molecular diagnostic of Tuberculosis, Covid-19, and HIV.
KWTRP hosted 153 students for the Annual School Leavers Attachment Scheme (SLAS) Open Day. The SLAS open day targets top performing students in Kilifi to give them an opportunity to information from various stakeholders and scientists that would help them firm up or redefine their career aspirations. It is an opportunity to give the students information about the need to take science and health related careers with the focus on creating the next pool of researchers in Kenya, Africa and beyond.
New work from the Medicine Quality Group at IDDO and MORU pilots the use of stable isotope mass spectrometry to estimate where falsified antimalarials and their components come from. The study, published in Scientific Reports, is a collaboration between the Medicine Quality Research Group, LOMWRU, and MORU Bangkok, working with stable isotope scientists in Utah, USA.
Dr Tabitha Mwangi, a former KWTRP scientist now working in the UK, has written an inspirational book targeted at High school going children but also useful in shaping students already in university in shaping their career journeys.
Researchers have found that widely available rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), typically used for common infections, can be repurposed to detect substandard and falsified (SF) vaccines, a significant but overlooked issue in global public health. Preliminary data suggests RDTs could be utilized by international organizations and regulators to screen vaccine supply chains for falsified products. This innovative approach addresses the urgent need for affordable tools to combat the threat of SF vaccines.
Findings reveal resistance patterns for a priority pathogen--also known as typhoid fever--with high mortality and morbidity in resource-constrained settings
A team of researchers at OUCRU has pioneered a novel, microbiological assay-independent diagnostic model for Adult Tuberculous Meningitis (TBM), leveraging Bayesian latent class analysis to improve the accuracy of diagnoses. This innovative approach, recently published in BMC Infectious Diseases, promises to enhance the detection and treatment of one of the most severe forms of tuberculosis (TB).
MORU' and IDDO\u2019s Medicine Quality Research Group (MQRG) have written a chapter in a new book which examines the global issue of substandard and falsified medical products.
It is a bittersweet moment for the KWTRP family as we make changes to our Leadership team. After 10 years of tremendous growth and change in the Programme, Professor Philip Bejon officially steps down as the KWTRP Programme Executive Director. Professor Edwine Barasa takes over as the Interim Executive Director.
The FORESFA project's laboratory group met for a workshop in Trentino, Italy, with participants from Oxford, Edinburgh, London, and Vienna. The workshop focused on advancing the analysis of simulated samples, which are crucial to developing forensic techniques to analyse falsified medical products. Challenges in data integration, collaboration with external experts, and a workflow for the first pilot analysis of falsified samples were discussed.
A recent study by the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) at NDM outlined a highly effective method for dengue surveillance. The researchers improved risk detection in real time by combining space-time modelling and anomaly detection. This will help in making dengue prevention more effective not only in Thailand but also in other regions with similar challenges.
Giving high oral doses of the anti-influenza drug Favipiravir to adults with early symptomatic COVID-19 treatment did not accelerate viral clearance, say researchers in a study published in BMC Infectious Diseases. In fact, there was no difference in the rate of viral clearance between patients given favipiravir and patients receiving no study drug.
With a passion for making a tangible impact on global health, Dr Jennifer van Nuil has not only established herself as a leading scientist in her field but has also championed change and personal growth in her team.
A teledermatology initiative by OUCRU Indonesia, in partnership with the Sumba Foundation and Gadjah Mada University, has made significant strides in transforming rural healthcare in Eastern Indonesia.
Although Nipah virus gets increasing attention in epidemic preparedness, there has been almost no bioethical work on the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Further work on public health ethics should address communication about the modes of transmission, surveillance, measures during epidemics, and social or religious norms, as well as potential vaccine trials and the different local contexts where trials may occur, and the use of unproven therapeutics during outbreaks. Further bioethics work may help to ensure that research and public health interventions for Nipah virus disease are ethically acceptable and more likely to be effective.
In a recent study, NDM\u2019s Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) researchers introduced an anomaly detection system, as an early warning mechanism for potential malaria outbreaks in countries like Thailand.
Photosynthesis is the starting point for almost every food chain, sustaining most life on Earth. But, not all plants have perfected the process. We now have the knowledge and the tools to maximise photosynthesis in a range of food crops. As climate change-driven weather such as drought and flooding is destroying crops and threatening crop yields around the world, this research is about making sure we can grow enough food to feed ourselves. Sebastian Fuller and Jonathan Menary tell us how in an article published in The Conversation.
Medical Action Myanmar successfully eliminated falciparum malaria in Eastern Myanmar within six years, employing 172 community health workers for early diagnosis and treatment. Their approach, integrating basic health services with malaria care, led to a rapid reduction in both falciparum and vivax malaria cases. This cost-effective strategy challenges traditional, labor-intensive methods, emphasizing the importance of community health workers in achieving malaria elimination in challenging, remote areas.
A systematic review and individual patient meta-analysis found that malaria chemoprevention after hospital discharge reduces deaths in children recovering from severe anaemia by 70%, and hospital readmission by 55%.
To boost the fight against drug-resistant malaria parasites now emerging in Africa, researchers will study the safety and efficacy of a fixed-dose combination (FDC) containing three antimalarial drugs currently given to patients separately in a triple artemisinin-based combination therapy (TACT) cocktail.
A new study estimates that nearly 1 in 4 people with P. falciparum malaria in Africa are at risk of receiving too low a dose of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), increasing the chance of treatment failure and the risk that malarial parasites develop resistance to the drug they were exposed to.
A meta-analysis of nearly 30,000 patients by the The Infectious Diseases Data Observatory researchers, suggests that a post-treatment follow-up duration of longer than 6-months may be needed to identify visceral leishmaniasis relapses.
Professor Alan Bernstein, Director of Global Health, met with students from the Nuffield Department of Medicine\u2019s MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine (IHTM).
The Global Health Network and Nursing Now Challenge launch The 1000 Challenge, a global research leadership initiative to enable health professionals to ask locally important questions to generate evidence. The initiative aims to change practice and management to improve patient management, care, or treatment in a commitment to advance Health for All.
A recent study led by OUCRU researchers highlighted the factors associated with the number of visits to one tertiary public hospital (Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City) that serves as the referral clinic for two-thirds of Vietnam for Hepatitis C virus treatment.
OUCRU are tackling the global health threat of Antimicrobial Resistance \u2013 a silent pandemic claiming millions of lives yearly. Learn about our collaborative research, our interventions in local hospitals, and our ongoing efforts to combat AMR.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis that jeopardizes our ability to effectively treat infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. To address this urgent issue, OUCRU has been implementing projects involving the youth and empowering young individuals to take action and make a difference.
As part of the global efforts to raise awareness about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) during World AMR Awareness Week, OUCRU Nepal has been actively engaging in public outreach activities since 2016. These initiatives aim to educate and empower individuals to take action in preventing the spread of AMR and promote responsible antibiotic use in the country.
At OUCRU, we are committed to raising awareness about antimicrobial resistance in the communities we work with. To fulfil our commitment, OUCRU\u2019s Public and Community Engagement team has organised several activities and projects across our sites. The aim has been to educate and empower individuals to take action in preventing the spread of AMR by promoting responsible antibiotic use.
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