Wellcome Clinical PhD Programme in Global Health Research – 2017 to 2021

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

The Wellcome Clinical PhD Programme in Global Health Research is a partnership between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University College London, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, St George’s University of London, and Brighton and Sussex Medical School bringing together their expertise in global health research. The Programme provides postgraduate training opportunities to clinicians committed to undertaking research on the health problems of low and middle income countries.

The latest meeting for this Programme and affiliated colleagues was held in March 2022 and in two locations – The Gambia, and Zimbabwe.  The four-day meeting brought together Fellows on the current Programme, senior affiliated Fellows, and affiliated Fellows in those locations and to the Bloomsbury Centre.  Please click here to access the presentations made at the meeting.

The aim of this Programme is to support the most promising clinicians who wish to undertake rigorous research training and complete a research project in the field of global health. The Programme will focus on the following six key areas:

  • HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria
  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • Maternal and child health
  • Mental health
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Non-communicable diseases.

The Programme supported four clinical PhD fellowships each year over five years and the following applicants were funded:

Ceri Evans is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Zimbabwe.  His research project is “Immune activation in HIV-exposed uninfected Zimbabwean infants.”

Naomi Wright is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Tanzania.  Her research project is “Developing and piloting an interventional bundle to reduce mortality from gastroschisis in low-resource setting and identifying priority congenital anomolies for further interventional studies.”

Kate Gaskell is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Lima, Peru.  Her research project is “Exposed to MDR-TB, what happens next?  A multi-national observational cohort e-registry to study natural history and improve outcomes.”

Fiona Cresswell is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Kampala, Uganda.  Her research project is “Improving diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis meningitis.”

Angela McBride is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Vietnam.  Her research project is “Investigation in the differences between the pathophysiology of dengue and septic shock in adults.”

Christian Kositz is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in The Gambia.  His research project is “The effects of ivermectin for enhanced vector control in malaria transmission on islands and low transmission settings.”

Ana Bonell is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in The Gambia.   Her research project is “The physiological effect of heat and exercise on rural subsistence pregnant farmers in The Gambia and the impact on pregnancy outcome.”

Sharif Ismail is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Kenya.  His research project is “A new set of tools for communicable disease monitoring in crisis settings.”

Joseph Piper is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Zimbabwe.  His research project is “The impact of randomised nutrition intervention on the health and development of school-age Zimbabwean children.”

Jonathan Sturgeon is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Zimbabwe.  His research project is “The role of enteropathy and systemic inflammation in severe acute malnutrition.”

Rachael Burke is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Malawi.  Her research project is “Digital Chest Xray with Computer Aided Diagnosis (DCXR-CAD) screening for TB and enhanced diagnostics among people living with HIV (PLHIV) admitted to hospital in Malawi.”

Anja Saso is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in The Gambia.  Her research project is “Vaccine-induced immunity to Bordetella pertussis in infancy: Bringing B- and T-cell responses together”

Edwin Armitage is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in The Gambia. His research project is “Streptococcus pyogenes carriage, persistence and transmission dynamics within households in The Gambia: A longitudinal cohort study.”

Jayne Ellis is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Uganda. Her research project is “Integrated cryptococcal and opportunistic infection management to improve outcomes in advanced HIV disease.”

Keira Skolimowska is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in South Africa. Her research project is “The role of platelets and effect of aspirin on neuroinflammation in TB meningitis.”

David McGregor is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Guinea-Bissau. His research project is “Investigating the impact of mass drug administration on Plasmodium falciparum population structure in the Bijagos Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau.”

Alex Keeley is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in The Gambia. His research project is “Does humoral immunity to candidate-vaccine antigens protect from Group A Streptococcus colonisation and disease in a longitudinal household cohort study in The Gambia?”

Claire Calderwood is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Zimbabwe. Her research project is “Multimorbidity in TB-affected households: Evaluation of disease clustering and the acceptability and yield of integrated health screening in Southern Africa.”

Kevin Martin is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Zimbabwe. His research project is “Integration of point-of-care diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections in antenatal care in Zimbabwe.”

Hannah Rickman is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellow carrying out research based in Malawi. Her research project is “Spatial heterogeneity of tuberculosis in Blantyre, Malawi: Approaches to defining high-risk areas for targeted intervention.”

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