Annual Meeting of the Imperial-Wellcome Centre for Global Health Research

Health experts gathered for the 2nd annual meeting of the Wellcome Centre for Global Health Research

The Imperial-Wellcome Centre for Global Health Research’s 2^nd annual scientific meeting took place at One Birdcage Walk last week.  

The two day meeting provided a key opportunity to hear talks from many senior Imperial College academics, as well as prominent academics from partner institutions in South Africa, The Gambia, Kenya, Thailand, Peru, Kenya and Uganda. 

The aim of the Imperial-Wellcome Centre for Global Health Research is to make advances in the prevention and treatment of major health problems of lower-middle income countries (LMICs), while fostering the careers of the next generation of scientists from those countries.  It has built on the work of the Wellcome Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine, established at Imperial in 1995, which has formed strong partnerships with numerous institutions worldwide and helped researchers establish their careers in clinical tropical medicine.

The Centre now has a broader scope, encompassing non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, in addition to infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, Ebola and malaria. It also supports scientists from LMICs to apply for PhD and postdoctoral positions at Imperial, funded by Wellcome Trust fellowships, and receiving mentorship from experienced researchers.

Themes discussed at the meeting were HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases (including the current Ebola crisis), non-communicable diseases, child health, and viral diseases.  The meeting concluded with a panel discussion on current global health opportunities and next steps for research. 

“We were delighted to hear from the wide array of speakers at the event.  Our annual meeting not only provides a platform for members of the centre to hear about current global research, but to also update the wider community on the current challenges facing global health today” said Professor Michael Levin, Director of the Wellcome-Imperial Centre for Global Health research. 

“As Imperial’s Vice-Provost for Education, it is my role is to oversee our educational strategy and ensure the quality of educational provision across the college is the best it can be.  This two day meeting was an excellent opportunity which allowed us to hear from those working further afield and to discuss ideas for wider collaboration and new teaching opportunities”, said Professor Debra Humphris.