Healthcare poses a complex challenge for developing countries, interweaving problems of science, health and development.
Research initiatives/academic groups
Displaying
1-20 of 44
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Less than one-tenth of all population-based research into dementia has been directed towards the two-thirds or more of all people with dementia who live in developing parts of the world — thus, the name "10/66".
Part of the Alzheimer's Disease International Network, 10/66 is a group of researchers who encourage active collaboration between research groups in different developing countries and between developed and developing countries. The research projects have included pilot studies to establish a method for diagnosing dementia in populations with very little formal education; qualitative studies to understand the experience of people with dementia and their carers; intervention studies that investigate whether local community health workers can contribute to care by identifying people who need help; and population-based studies to quantify prevalence and incidence in developing countries.
The 10/66 Group is part of Alzheimer's Disease International and is coordinated through Prof. Martin Prince from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London.
The New York-based Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center conducts basic research and clinical trials on HIV/AIDS, and is affiliated to The Rockefeller University. The website contains a brief fact sheet and a particularly clear graphical illustration of the stages of the
HIV life cycle. The Center has recently begun a phase I
clinical trial of an HIV vaccine that is particularly representative of the HIV strain most prevalent in China.
The Africa Genome Initiative is an Africa-wide research programme designed to further Africa's involvement in the Human Genome Project. Run by the South African Human Sciences Research Council, the Intiative organises an annual conference and publishes the magazine,
African Scientist.
The African AIDS Vaccine Programme was conceived in June 2000 as a network of African experts, working together to promote and facilitate HIV vaccine research and evaluation in Africa. Sponsored by WHO-UNAIDS, its mission is to advocate and support a coordinated effort to contribute to the global HIV vaccine development goals, ensuring that appropriate and affordable vaccines are developed for Africa in the shortest possible time.
AMANET promotes capacity building in African research and training institutes that specialise in malaria studies. Its objectives include promoting collaboration among stakeholders, creating international awareness about the malaria problem in Africa, identifying test sites, developing infrastructure and support for field and clinical trials, and increasing good management practices in malaria research. AMANET produces a biannual online newsletter to disseminate research findings and grant and workshop calls. It also hosts a discussion forum for registered members.
The Alliance for Microbicide Development brings together pharmaceutical companies, non-profit research institutions and advocacy groups dedicated to the development of topical microbicides. A major highlight of its website is the new
Microbicides Research and Development Database. This contains detailed information on the status of individual microbicide products, principle investigators and trial locations. (Free registration is needed for access, and some information is restricted). There is also an excellent weekly digest of news relating to microbicides reserach and development, and the
Microbicide Quarterly, which has meeting reports, interviews and expert-authored articles on all areas from basic research to clinical and regulatory issues.
APBioNet is a non-profit, nongovernmental organisation that focuses on the promotion of bioinformatics in the Asia Pacific region. Since 1998, it has helped develop a bioinformatics network infrastructure, facilitated the exchange of data and information, run training programs, workshops and symposia, and encouraged collaborations in the field of bioinformatics with an Asia Pacific focus.
The Beijing Genomics Institute is the largest non-profit genomics research institute in China. Founded in July 1999 by a group of overseas Chinese scientists, BGI has been growing rapidly with the support from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China was the only developing country member of the International Human Genome Project Consortium, and BGI played a leading role in the sequencing of chromosome 3. [
Click here for Chinese version.]
This up-to-date and comprehensive website from the American Journal of Bioethics covers a wide range of issues in bioethics, including articles on research ethics. The site is very useful for monitoring current controversies and developments but other links provide more useful resources specifically related to research in developing countries (such as the list of
educational resources).
The Chinese National Human Genome Centre in Beijing was established in 1998 and played a key role in the Human Genome Project. It aims to strengthen international collaboration and attract more foreign researchers - especially overseas Chinese scientists - to genomic research in China, and has departments for genomic sequencing, disease genomics, functional genomic and bioinformatics. The Centre is supported by the national Ministry of Science and Technology, the municipal government and the Chinese Academy of Science.
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative is an independent non-profit collaboration between organisations including the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and Médecins sans Frontières that focuses on developing drugs for neglected diseases, such as leishmaniasis.
DNDi harnesses existing research and development capacity to develop these drugs, and ensures they are accessible to the developing world.
There are extensive links to articles, publications and conference reports, many available for downloading, and a petition to support DNDi in its call to governments around the world to do more for neglected diseases.
The Center for Genome Ethics, Law, & Policy - part of Duke University's
Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy - was created to foster ethically responsible and socially beneficial uses of genome science, while addressing the complex ethical, legal, social and policy impacts of the genome revolution.
ENDA is an association of research groups based both in Senegal and other Southern countries, which work on development and environment themes. It collaborates with grassroots groups in search of alternative development models on the basis of the experience, expectations and objectives of marginalised peoples.
EMBO is an academy of bioscientists in Europe. It provides fellowships, workshops and training, and participates in public dialogue activites. In 2001, the organistion established a
world programme, supporting workshops in non-European countries. EMBO publishes
The EMBO Journal and
EMBO Reports, and is the creator of
E-BioSci, a new electronic platform for linking genomic and other data with reasearch literature.
A European Union-funded collaboration between more than 20 laboratories in France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to bring European preventive HIV vaccines into Phase I clinical trials.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Gates Malaria Partnership is a collaboration between research centres in the UK, Denmark and those in n Africa, where malaria is widespread. It seeks to improve malaria control in these regions through improved training, promoting research in malaria-endemic countries, and ensuring the ability to translate knowledge into practice and treatment.
The website describes the priority areas of the partnership, including epidemic prediction and response, and household and community level interactions.
This website offers information on a programme at the Harvard School of Public Health. It includes material on the principles of research ethics, informed consent, responsibilities to the study community, mechanisms of approval and the role of funders. Also available are a selection of case studies, an email discussion group, and links to a useful
selection of readings on research ethics.
The HIV Prevention Trials Network is an international network of scientists and clinical investigators engaged in developing non-vaccine methods of HIV prevention, including antiretroviral therapy, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, microbicides, sexual behavior, substance use, and controlling other sexually transmitted infections. Its website contains an excellent
directory with local and regional information on investigators and their trials.
The HIV Vaccine Trials Network is an international collaboration of scientists from more than 20 institutions worldwide developing and testing HIV vaccines in all phases of clinical trials. The website contains an excellent searchable
database of ongoing trials, background information and a media archive, and a summary of major issues discussed at the
July 2004 International AIDS Conference in Bangkok presentations
The IRD is a French public science and technology research institute that conducts research, consultancy and training towards supporting sustainable development in developing countries. The main interest focuses on the relationship between people and the environment, including diseases such as malaria. The IRD website can be read in either French or English, and has background information and press releases on its research activities, and a list of sponsored research centres throughout Central Africa.
