Premjit Amornchai from our MORU unit in Bangkok, Thailand, tells us about her work as biosafety level 3 lab manager and microbioogy safety officer To prevent relapse or reinfection, melioidosis requires a specific and prolonged treatment. Melioidosis is endemic at least 45 countries, but greatly under-reported, with a microbiological culture required to confirm diagnosis. This can take 2-7 days. In Thailand, up to 40 percent of hospital admitted melioidosis patients die. Premjit works with...

Dr Olga Tosas-Auguet from our unit in Kenya tells us about her research on mapping bacterial antibiotic resistance Dr Olga Tosas-Auguet aims to develop ad evaluate a new approach to large scale surveillance of bacterial antibiotic resistance in low income settings. This approach can then be taken forward to a testing stage, initially in partnership with an emerging network of policy makers and healthcare practitioners in Africa. Resistance to antibiotics is a growing issue worldwide. Mapping...

David Dance from our LOMWRU unit in Laos tells us about his research on bacterial infections in Laos, particularly melioidosis David Dance is a Clinical Microbiologist supporting the work of LOMWRU (Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital Wellcome Trust Research Unit) on bacterial infections of importance to public health in Laos. He is particularly interested in all aspects of melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei) infection, especially gaining a greater understanding of the global distribution of the...

Dr Gail Carson is Head of ISARIC Coordinating Centre (International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium), a network of networks established in 2011 to ensure a rapid research response to outbreaks of pandemic potential. A quick and efficient response to an outbreak requires strong central communication and coordination. Information needs to be shared quickly and then fed into patient care and policy. A wider approach, cutting across disciplines and specialities, helps...

Professor Frank Smithuis is the director of MOCRU, Myanmar Oxford Clinical Research Unit. MOCRU involves a network of 6 clinics and 650 community health workers in remote areas. Up until now, Myanmar has spent little on heathcare and receive little assistance from rich countries. Prevention is difficult, which leaves diagnosis and treatment. MOCRU has set up a network of community health workers, trained and supplied with diagnostics and treatments, to help improve access to healthcare for...

LOMWRU researchers conduct clinical research to help improve global, regional and Lao public health. They focus on infectious diseases, and also investigate diseases of nutrition and poverty. Poor quality medicines are a serious threat to our health. Falsified medicines and substandards medicines are a problem for all countries, but particularly for low and middle income countries where we see, for example, a large epidemic of fake anti-malarial drugs. Globally, better medicine regulatory...

Director of OUCRU-Nepal, Dr Buddha Basnyat studies high altitude illness as well as undifferentiated febrile illness in the tropics, both common but neglected problems in Nepal. High altitude illness can be prevented by a simple rule: don't go too high, too fast. Drugs can also be used, and Dr Basnyat showed that a much lower dose of Diamox, a commonly used drug, is as effective. His research also focusses on the effect of high altitude on pilgrims, an older, poorer and more vulnerable...

Professor Kevin Baird leads our Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit (EOCRU) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Delivering health care in Indonesia is a challenge, made more difficult by the geography and distances. Our EOCRU unit specialises in clinical trials on tropical infections, particularly Plasmodium vivax malaria. Current treatments with primaquine are effective but very toxic for patients with G6PD deficiency. Better point of care diagnostics can help us treat all patients safely. Creative...

This webinar features introductions from Francois Van Loggerenberg, scientific lead at the Global Health Network, and community engagement consultant Georgia Bladon to the community engagement platform Mesh. Learn how this platform might be useful to you, how it fits within the Global Health network and what we mean by good community engagement. Plus, take a tour and see examples of the content we create, host and share so that you can add to, use and navigate the site to get the most out of...

Professor Ben Cooper from MORU in Thailand uses mathematical modelling and statistical techniques to help understand the dynamics of infectious disease and evaluate potential control measures. Antibiotic resistance is one of today's major global health problems. Mathematical models help us answer what if questions and evaluate the impact of specific interventions such as hands hygiene on the spread of bacterial drug resistance. Effective solutions are then translated into policy changes or...

Dr Richard Maude's work combines clinical studies, descriptive epidemiology and mathematical modelling of malaria in South and Southeast Asia. Malaria epidemiology focuses on two main challenges to malaria elimination: antimalarial drug resistance and the movement of people that are spreading the malaria parasite. Travel surveys and cellphone records, combined with population parasite genetics help predict the spread of malaria and of drug resistance. Close coordination with all groups and...

Naomi’s work focuses on supporting researchers to collect, clean and store research data. PRESERVING EVIDENCE FOR THE FUTURE Research is only as good as the evidence it generates, and data management is a critical part of this process since it supports findings. High quality data must be preserved for long term use and available to the research community. Ultimately, data is not about numbers, but about people's lives and health. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK:...

Dr Kesinee Chotivanich's laboratory provides facilities and resources to researchers, students, and collaborators who are interested in tropical diseases, with the aim to improve patients’ care. More effective diagnosis and treatments are needed to reduce the morbidity and mortality affecting malaria patients. Researchers at the Malaria Laboratory at MORU study the pathophysiology of the disease, and test new compound drugs for anti-malarial activity. In the context of growing artemisinin...

The Cambodia Oxford Medical Research Unit (COMRU) is based in Siem Reap, northern Cambodia, which remains one of the poorest countries in South East Asia with extremely limited health services. PNEUMONIA IN CAMBODIA Infectious diseases are prevalent in Cambodia, a country that is struggling with poor infrastructure. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes the most severe form of pneumonia and is now targeted by the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Dr Paul Turner is studying the effect of this vaccine...

Dr Direk Limmathurotsakul's research focuses on the epidemiology of melioidosis, a bacterial infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. Melioidosis is endemic in at least 45 countries, but greatly under-reported. Up to 50% of cases seen in hospital die. Our researchers at MORU have produced a rapid diagnostic test that aims to improve both diagnosis and public awareness. Better coordination between researchers and policy makers is needed to face upcoming emerging infectious diseases....

Dr Claudia Turner heads the clinical research program at the Cambodia Oxford Medical Research Unit (COMRU), in collaboration with the Angkor Hospital for Children. Whereas children mortality has dramatically decreased over the past 15 years, almost half the remaining mortality still occurs during the first 4 weeks of age. Neonatology, or care of newborns, doesn't need to be difficult or expensive. Low cost intervertions involving communities, such as keeping babies warm, save lives. Creative...

Dr Chris Paton studies the use of open-source Electronic Health Records (EHR) software, online learning and mobile technology to improve healthcare delivery in low-resource settings. LEARNING HEALTH SYSTEM In a learning health system, health care providers use electronic health records to identify problems, implement local solutions and check if the solutions are effective. Health informatics, or the use of IT in healthcare, needs to find innovative solutions for low income settings, such...

With 390 million infections occuring each year, dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral infection, and no vaccine is currently available. DENGUE The majority of people infected with the dengue virus experience a flu-like febrile illness, but in a small proportion of patients, particularly children, the virus causes the blood vessels to become leaky which can induce shock and lead to death. Improved diagnosis and understanding of the disease process enable better outcomes for...

Identifying and addressing ethical issues are key to the success of any clinical trials, particularly when working with vulnerable populations. Dr Phaik Yeong Cheah leads the Department of Bioethics & Engagement at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Thailand. She is particularly interested in ethical issues in community engagement, data sharing, consent and assent in paediatric research. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England...

In settings with high level of poverty and over-stretched health services, researchers have even greater responsibilities to the communities and study participants. SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL RESEARCH A social scientist and public health researcher based in Kenya, Professor Vicki Marsh aims to understand and strenghten policies based on social and ethical aspects of international collaborations. Improving communications between researchers and the patients and local communities is not only...

Economics and health are interlinked in many ways, as seen in the vicious cycle between poverty and ill health. Dr Yoel Lubell leads the economic team at the MORU Mathematical and Economic Modelling Group, based in Bangkok, Thailand. His research focuses on the evaluation of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for infectious diseases, with the aim of providing guidance on malaria elimination and control of artemisinin resistance in the Mekong region. Creative Commons...

Dr Christiane Dolecek speaks about the research on enteric fever she conducted in Vietman and Nepal Dr Christiane Dolecek's clinical research focuses on tropical diseases, in particular enteric fever and malaria. She has led enteric fever clinical trials in Vietnam and Nepal with the aim to systematically assess the current WHO recommendations as well as new treatment options. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales;...

Genetics and genomics of Streptococcus pneumoniae Angela Brueggemann's main focus is using high-throughput genotyping and whole genome sequencing techniques and unique collections of isolates to understand pneumococcal evolution, especially evolutionary changes related to antimicrobial and vaccine selective pressures.

Oxford Health Systems Research Collaboration (OHSCAR) Professor Mike English leads the Health Services Unit at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi, Kenya. This unit aims to strengthen equality in access to affordable quality health care in Africa. Studies are based on health systems clustered around five main topics: malaria, service delivery & access, information for decision making, governance and financing. Professor English leads efforts to develop...

Governance in practice Dr Sassy Molyneux's main interests reside in Social science and Ethics in Public Health. Over the years, social scientists have developed a programme of empirical work on research ethics. This work is based on an understanding that while the ethics of human subjects research may be universal, there can be big differences across contexts and circumstances in key ethical issues or principles. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England &...