UCL won the International Collaboration of the Year award this week at the Times Higher Education Awards 2013.
The University of Zambia-University College London Medical School (UNZA-UCLMS) Research & Training Programme, led by BRC-supported Professor Alimuddin Zumla, won the award for exceptional projects carried out jointly between a UK institution and one or more international partners.
UNZA-UCLMS was founded as an African-led medical research and development organisation in 1994 by Professor Zumla when he joined UCL/UCLH.
In collaboration with European institutions, the programme seeks to evaluate the accuracy and efficacy of new rapid TB diagnostic technologies in high TB and TB/HIV endemic populations in sub-Saharan African countries. It also aims to align TB diagnostic services with routine medical admissions so that multi-screening of patients can be achieved for those with co-morbidities and other medical conditions such as diabetes, chronic renal failure and liver diseases.
Professor Zumla said “We are extremely proud and honoured to receive this award. Success of complex multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and multi-country educational, capacity development and research programmes is critically dependent on selfless, committed, and dedicated educators and researchers. This award acknowledges the exceptional contributions made by our teams here at UCL and UCLH and at all our partner countries in Africa and Europe”
Under the remit of the UNZA-UCLMS project, numerous medical, nursing and laboratory personnel have been trained, local capacity built for conducting clinical trials and laboratory infrastructure has improved. The research outputs have been published in high impact factor journals and the research data has influenced World Health Organization policy for TB and TB/HIV.
