Royal Opening of CTID 2008-2009 Issue Director’S Update
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Royal opening of CTID 2008-2009 issue Director’s Update LSTM Director Professor Janet Hemingway example being the Malaria in Pregnancy (MiP) Consortium, established in March 2008 with an initial grant of $30 million. LATH has also generated major new business in Malawi, with an exciting initiative funded by the UK’s Department for International Development that will allow us to help Malawi realise the benefits of applied research occurring in-country and integrate these, where appropriate, into its policy and planning activities within the Ministry of Health. In an otherwise upbeat year the only cloud on our horizon is our ability to continue to access HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) funding. Changes in HEFCE’s accounting requirements mean that the affiliation with the University of Liverpool, which has benefitted both In March 2008 we moved around already made three new senior Institutions for over one hundred years, no 120 staff into our new building. The appointments. Sue Assinder has joined us longer appears viable in its current format. state of the art Category III space in as our Director of Education, while Joe HEFCE is currently funding a consultant to the Centre for Tropical and Valadez and Moses Bockarie have joined look at this issue. Infectious Diseases (CTID) building us to strengthen our International Health allows us to safely handle a number and Disease Control Strategy Groups We look forward to your continued support of pathogens and infected insects respectively. Stewart Tyson has been throughout the coming year as we continue in a way that was not possible in appointed as new Managing Director of to expand and develop the ways in which our old facilities, allowing us to Liverpool Associates in Tropical Health we can improve the health and wellbeing of expand the breadth of our work in (LATH Ltd), our technical assistance those most in need. search of new treatments and company, and we look forward to solutions to some of the world’s welcoming him to Liverpool in the autumn. most devastating tropical diseases. Our research programme continues to build CTID was officially opened by our The space freed up by moving with several major programmes funded Patron, HRH The Princess Royal approximately a third of our staff to CTID is recently by the Wellcome Trust. One of on 18 July. now scheduled for much needed these will allow us to validate a novel target You can read more about this renovation, and provides us with the site for drug development. Our successful landmark occasion in the centre opportunity to expand our existing activities relationship with the Bill and Melinda Gates pages. and bring in new senior staff. We have Foundation continues to develop, the latest tropical 2008/09 New Developments in Education New Director of Education Short Course in International Health Dr Sue Assinder has been appointed to the Consultancy new post of Director of Education. Sue’s Stemming from the work of LSTM’s previous role was as Director of the consultancy arm LATH, this short course Academic Development Unit at Bangor is designed to equip those intending to University, where she was responsible for pursue national, regional and delivering professional development in international health consultancy. The teaching and learning. Prior to this, she aims of the course are to enhance was a senior lecturer in the University’s knowledge and skills in the provision and School of Biological Sciences, before management of consultancy services becoming Head in 2003. Sue has within the context of international health extensive experience of quality assurance and deliver work that is robust, and curriculum development both at evidence-based and grounded in the Bangor and with the Quality Assurance reality of resource-poor settings. Agency and sits on the Advisory Board of Travel Expedition Medicine Course the Higher Education Academy Centre for Bioscience. One of her special interests is Building upon LSTM’s long history in the promoting public engagement with science field of travel medicine, a short course and she won the Biotechnology and has been developed focusing on travel Biological Sciences Research Council health and expedition medicine. The Science Communicator award in 1995 and course is particularly relevant to health is currently Education Officer of the Society professionals who may be advising for General Microbiology and Chair of the travellers or those who may be Education Committee of the Biosciences considering working as Federation. expedition medics. Fundraising for Humanitarian and Commenting on the appointment, LSTM’s & Infectious Diseases which replaces the Development Organisations Director Professor Janet Hemingway, said: Masters in Tropical Medicine. (new module) "Sue joins us at a very exciting time for learning and teaching. Her wide experience Masters in International Public Health With increasing competition for scarce and obvious passion for delivering a Introduced in September 2007, the resources and growing demands for student experience of the highest quality Masters in International Public Health agencies to respond to the changing will take our learning offer to the next level." replaced the Masters of Community Health priorities of donors, it has never been and has already proved extremely popular. more vital for those working in NGOs to Anticipating the challenge of her new role, The programme’s key aim is to enable develop and enhance their fundraising Sue said: "I am delighted to be joining graduates to provide leadership in public skills. ‘Fundraising for Humanitarian and such an internationally renowned health in middle and low income countries. Development Organisations’ is designed organisation and look forward to playing my to meet these challenges and equip part in establishing LSTM as an Masters in International Sexual & participants with both the theory and international leader in education. The Reproductive Health practical skills required to generate vital successful introduction of modular courses, Running from September 2008, this one income for their organisations. This the growth in demand for short courses and year Masters programme is being module, which is offered as part of the the possibilities for external teaching show delivered in partnership with the Division of MSc in Humanitarian Programme LSTM's strengths in quality academic Perinatal and Reproductive Medicine in the Management, is also available as a provision. I am very much looking forward School of Reproductive and ‘stand alone’ module. It will be run on to working with colleagues to develop and Developmental Medicine of the University selected Fridays in Semester 2, making it implement a new Learning, Teaching and of Liverpool and the Royal College of readily accessible to external participants Assessment strategy which will guide our Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The who are working with UK based NGOs. learning and teaching portfolio over the programme explores Maternal and next decade." Neonatal Health, Family Planning, Details of these new education prevention, diagnosis and management of programmes and the range of Masters, New Modular Programmes STIs and HIV infection, adolescent health, Certificates, Diploma and short courses gender and gender-based violence. available at LSTM can be found on our In September 2007, LSTM introduced a website at www.liv.ac.uk/lstm/learning new modular framework for all Masters Masters in Health Care Management _teaching/index.htm programmes. This provides students with a We intend to introduce this Masters wider choice from a greater variety of programme in September 2009, please modules on offer. As part of this process visit the website for updates on the status we have created a new Masters in Tropical of this programme. page 2 | 3 Working Together to Save Lives... LSTM’s success as a centre of together to achieve progress and deliver proving increasingly attractive to grant excellence in tropical medicine and results which would be impossible funders keen to see results as quickly international health is based around working in isolation. LSTM’s integrated as possible. creating and sustaining successful and seamless ‘full service’ proposition partnerships which bring unique encompassing research, project expertise, technology and resources management and support services is ...in partnership with global industry Vector borne diseases are one of the major causes of death in developing countries and keep poor people poor through disability, death of principal earners and missed educational opportunities. LSTM is one of five leading institutions in the field of vector control products and information systems which make up the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC). The IVCC is developing new and better ways to control insect carriers of disease, including new a t n insecticides and indoor residual sprays, e g and is currently partnering in projects with n y Bayer and Syngenta. Commenting on the S f emerging partnerships with the o y s e agrochemical industry, Dr Tom McLean, t r IVCC’s Senior Executive Officer said: “It u o seems we have touched a deep vein of c e g desire to put their profound expertise to a m good use in the cause of public health.” I Malaria in pregnancy is a major cause of ...in partnership with academic and severe maternal anaemia and preventable low birth weight in infants, which greatly international health organisations increases the risk of death. In Africa its complications are responsible for as many as 100,000 infants dying needlessly every year. The Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium is led by LSTM and is comprised of 40 partner institutions in 28 countries around the world, joined in the fight against malaria in pregnancy and committed to improving its control and treatment. This five year programme of research will evaluate new and existing interventions for the prevention and treatment of malaria in pregnancy. It is funded by an initial $30 miilion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is also supported by the European Union.