Research Leaders: Meeting the challenge

1. Research Leaders:Meeting the challenge Mark Walport 19 November 2008

2. Wealth mattersMalaria deaths

3. Wealth mattersAll cardiovascular disease deaths

4. Research for health A focus on people • people & ideas • teams • major programmes • networks

5. Training and capacity buildingSickle cell disease • establishment of one of the largest prospective cohorts of SCD patients in East Africa (1200 patients) • infrastructure development for diagnostics and training • determination of the causes of morbidity and mortality amongst SCD patients • development of locally relevant policies for management of malaria, bacterial infections and stroke in the context of SCD • Julie Makani, Research Training Fellowship • University of Tanzania

6. New solutions needed Research into practice: Insecticide treated bed nets for Malaria Noor et al., 2007. PLoS Medicine, 4(8): e255 + Highly subsidised clinics social marketing With thanks to Robert Snow

7. Networks • researchers in 21 countries • whole genome association study of severe malaria • multicentre study of immune gene polymorphisms that determine antibody production to malaria antigens • malaria candidate gene diversity project • identify novel malaria resistance loci by genetic linkage analysis

8. New tools Mapping disease • Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) • funded for five years by the Wellcome Trust and is a joint project between the Centre for Geographic Medicine, Kenya and the University of Oxford with collaborating nodes in America and Asia Pacific region • a detailed model of the spatial limits of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria at a global scale Robert Snow University of Oxford

9. Capacity building: National Networks Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative • Partnership between UK Department for International Development and Wellcome Trust • Plus International Development Research Centre, Canada: track record strengthening health systems in Africa and a financial contribution to the project • Kenya and Malawi (£10 million each country) • National Task Forces developed programmes of work over a 6-month period • Mechanism: foster and nurture National research grant-giving bodies, the Consortium for National Health Research, Kenya and the National Research Council of Malawi • Implementation from February 2008

10. 59 51 51 5 88 70 33 51 43 59 59 59 13 71 13 51 27 27 43 13 51 43 5 43 61 49 27 59 68 78 78 5 51 61 13 59 78 27 78 27 27 33 78 57 33 43 61 27 • Institutional capacity building • Distribution of applicants invited for full application involving: • institutions in 20 African countries • collaborations with 27 non-African institutions • Awards to be made in December 2008

11. Global collaborationPandemic influenza • consortium of organisations, including: • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • Institut Pasteur • National Institutes of Health • WHO • Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention • Wellcome Trust • facilitate and coordinate the development of a research agenda related to human influenza: • What is being done? • What needs to be done? • Three areas to be mapped – vaccines, drug therapies, epidemiology/surveillance • developing, maintaining and disseminating a central inventory of funded research activities on influenza

12. Health and wealth France UK