Protection from Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: Learning from exposed but uninfected children
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Dept of Medicine
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem for children and adults. One of the characteristics of TB is that the bacteria that cause it can stay within the body for many years after infection, and re-activate and cause disease later in life. TB vaccine research is therefore complicated because people need to be followed-up for many years to see whether or not they eventually develop the disease. It's also unclear what sort of immune response is the most protective against TB, and therefore how best to design and test new vaccines.
The World Health Organization is aiming for zero childhood TB deaths and to eliminate the disease by 2050. Identifying an effective immune response and markers in the blood that correspond to protection against TB, would dramatically speed up development and implementation of new vaccines, which is key to achieving these goals.
TB IN CHILDREN
Children are normally exposed to TB bacteria by a coughing infected adult living in their home. Children's responses vary. Some of these children become unwell with TB disease, others are healthy but infected, whilst a third group shows no signs of infection. Children who are healthy but infected are at risk of TB re-activating later in life and causing disease.
We aim to answer the question:
Why do some children exposed to TB show no signs of infection, whilst others in the same household become infected?
To understand the protective mechanisms, this research will compare immune responses in blood from children in the Gambia:
1. Children exposed to TB who are "protected"
2. Siblings exposed to TB who are infected
3. Healthy children from the community
By comparing "protected" children to their infected siblings in the same household and to matched health children from the community, many factors that can influence TB, such as age, nutrition, genetic background, degree of exposure to TB and so on will be taken into account, enabling us to focus on specific questions.
AIM ONE
We will first confirm a previous finding that in laboratory testing, blood from "protected" children is better at killing the bacteria that cause TB. This is important because it will show that there is a test we can carry out in the laboratory that corresponds to the clinical differences between the groups of children. There are several possible explanations for this difference.
AIM TWO
TB infects immune cells and can live within them. It is thought that if infected immune cells die in a carefully regulated process (known as apoptosis), the spread of TB is limited. If the infected TB cell dies in an uncontrolled manner (known as necrosis) the bacteria can multiply more easily and spread rapidly. We will use blood to see if immune cells from "protected" children are more likely to die by apoptosis when infected with TB in the laboratory.
The balance of chemicals that promote or suppress inflammation is an explanation for why some infected cells die by apoptosis or necrosis and potentially why some children are protected against TB infection. We will therefore measure the production of a range of these chemicals in blood in response to infection with TB in the laboratory.
AIM THREE
Having identified inflammatory chemicals that are implicated in protection against TB in children, we can investigate this further by adding specific drugs to blood infected in the laboratory and measure whether it affects killing of bacteria or the manner in which cells die following infection. This will help us to be more certain that what we have seen has a causative impact.
POTENTIAL OUTCOMES
The information gathered from this research project has potential to help test vaccines currently in production, guide development of new vaccines, and see whether addition of medicines that influence inflammation can be helpful in addition to direct anti-TB drugs.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem for children and adults. One of the characteristics of TB is that the bacteria that cause it can stay within the body for many years after infection, and re-activate and cause disease later in life. TB vaccine research is therefore complicated because people need to be followed-up for many years to see whether or not they eventually develop the disease. It's also unclear what sort of immune response is the most protective against TB, and therefore how best to design and test new vaccines.
The World Health Organization is aiming for zero childhood TB deaths and to eliminate the disease by 2050. Identifying an effective immune response and markers in the blood that correspond to protection against TB, would dramatically speed up development and implementation of new vaccines, which is key to achieving these goals.
TB IN CHILDREN
Children are normally exposed to TB bacteria by a coughing infected adult living in their home. Children's responses vary. Some of these children become unwell with TB disease, others are healthy but infected, whilst a third group shows no signs of infection. Children who are healthy but infected are at risk of TB re-activating later in life and causing disease.
We aim to answer the question:
Why do some children exposed to TB show no signs of infection, whilst others in the same household become infected?
To understand the protective mechanisms, this research will compare immune responses in blood from children in the Gambia:
1. Children exposed to TB who are "protected"
2. Siblings exposed to TB who are infected
3. Healthy children from the community
By comparing "protected" children to their infected siblings in the same household and to matched health children from the community, many factors that can influence TB, such as age, nutrition, genetic background, degree of exposure to TB and so on will be taken into account, enabling us to focus on specific questions.
AIM ONE
We will first confirm a previous finding that in laboratory testing, blood from "protected" children is better at killing the bacteria that cause TB. This is important because it will show that there is a test we can carry out in the laboratory that corresponds to the clinical differences between the groups of children. There are several possible explanations for this difference.
AIM TWO
TB infects immune cells and can live within them. It is thought that if infected immune cells die in a carefully regulated process (known as apoptosis), the spread of TB is limited. If the infected TB cell dies in an uncontrolled manner (known as necrosis) the bacteria can multiply more easily and spread rapidly. We will use blood to see if immune cells from "protected" children are more likely to die by apoptosis when infected with TB in the laboratory.
The balance of chemicals that promote or suppress inflammation is an explanation for why some infected cells die by apoptosis or necrosis and potentially why some children are protected against TB infection. We will therefore measure the production of a range of these chemicals in blood in response to infection with TB in the laboratory.
AIM THREE
Having identified inflammatory chemicals that are implicated in protection against TB in children, we can investigate this further by adding specific drugs to blood infected in the laboratory and measure whether it affects killing of bacteria or the manner in which cells die following infection. This will help us to be more certain that what we have seen has a causative impact.
POTENTIAL OUTCOMES
The information gathered from this research project has potential to help test vaccines currently in production, guide development of new vaccines, and see whether addition of medicines that influence inflammation can be helpful in addition to direct anti-TB drugs.
Technical Summary
Why do some children exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) show no signs of infection, whilst others in the same household become latently infected?
We aim to define protective host immune mechanisms against infection by M.tb through characterizing differences between clinical phenotypes in an established household case-contact platform in The Gambia:
1. TB-exposed children without signs of M.tb infection ("protected"),
2. their latently infected siblings ("susceptible"),
3. age-matched but TB-unexposed community "controls."
We hypothesize that "protected" siblings restrict mycobacterial growth more than their "susceptible" siblings and that this reflects cell death and linked eicosanoid pathways.
Aim 1: To validate pilot data that "protected" children inhibit mycobacterial growth more than "susceptible siblings"
Methods 1: Whole blood reporter-gene tagged M.tb infection with calculation of growth ratios.
Aim 2: To measure cellular and inflammatory differences in responses of blood from "protected" and "susceptible" children to M.tb infection.
Aim 2.1: To compare monocyte cell death modality.
Methods 2.1: M.tb-infected monocytes will be evaluated for apoptosis by (a) Flow cytometry and (b) Cell-death detection ELISAPLUS immunoassay.
Aim 2.2: To use an unbiased lipidomics approach to evaluate lipid mediator profiles.
Methods 2.2: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) will quantify lipid inflammatory mediators.
Aim 3: Manipulation of lipid mediators of interest in M.tb infection to provide mechanistic insight.
Methods 3: Following analysis of Aim 2.2 data, selected drugs will be tested for impact upon mycobacterial growth, cell death modality and lipid mediators.
OPPORTUNITIES
The protective markers identified will aid vaccine evaluation, whilst the lipidomics opens avenues to investigate immunomodulation in TB.
We aim to define protective host immune mechanisms against infection by M.tb through characterizing differences between clinical phenotypes in an established household case-contact platform in The Gambia:
1. TB-exposed children without signs of M.tb infection ("protected"),
2. their latently infected siblings ("susceptible"),
3. age-matched but TB-unexposed community "controls."
We hypothesize that "protected" siblings restrict mycobacterial growth more than their "susceptible" siblings and that this reflects cell death and linked eicosanoid pathways.
Aim 1: To validate pilot data that "protected" children inhibit mycobacterial growth more than "susceptible siblings"
Methods 1: Whole blood reporter-gene tagged M.tb infection with calculation of growth ratios.
Aim 2: To measure cellular and inflammatory differences in responses of blood from "protected" and "susceptible" children to M.tb infection.
Aim 2.1: To compare monocyte cell death modality.
Methods 2.1: M.tb-infected monocytes will be evaluated for apoptosis by (a) Flow cytometry and (b) Cell-death detection ELISAPLUS immunoassay.
Aim 2.2: To use an unbiased lipidomics approach to evaluate lipid mediator profiles.
Methods 2.2: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) will quantify lipid inflammatory mediators.
Aim 3: Manipulation of lipid mediators of interest in M.tb infection to provide mechanistic insight.
Methods 3: Following analysis of Aim 2.2 data, selected drugs will be tested for impact upon mycobacterial growth, cell death modality and lipid mediators.
OPPORTUNITIES
The protective markers identified will aid vaccine evaluation, whilst the lipidomics opens avenues to investigate immunomodulation in TB.
Planned Impact
CHILDREN AT RISK OF TB
Children across the world are the primary intended beneficiaries of this fellowship proposal. There are manifold potential benefits for paediatric health. Markers of protection can provide a fundamental step forward in the development of a better vaccine to prevent infection and disease in TB, thereby helping to meet the goals of zero childhood TB deaths. Understanding the role of inflammation, and using a discovery-generating approach such as lipidomics will further the rapidly burgeoning field of understanding susceptibility to TB. Furthermore treatment of TB may be advanced with immunomodulatory adjunctive treatments to directly anti-tuberculous therapy.
ADULTS AT RISK OF TB
It is not only children who have the potential to benefit from this study, but adults too. Adults with pulmonary TB and a high bacillary burden are the primary mode of transmission to both children and adults. By understanding prevention of infection through this fellowship proposal, vaccines that prevent latent infection, and thereby subsequent reactivation in disease in adult populations will both prevent cases directly, but also prevent transmission, thereby having a dramatic effect upon TB epidemiology.
THE GAMBIAN AND WEST AFRICAN PUBLIC
The people of Gambia and West African region will directly and indirectly benefit from the MRC's investment in resources and people at the MRC Unit in The Gambia. This will come about through the skills development of those involved directly in working on the Fellowship, as well as indirectly through ancillary staff and broader economic impacts upon the community around the Unit. It will also contribute to the excellent track record of high quality research and scientific endeavour in The Gambia and the region as a whole.
THE UK
Particularly in urban areas of the UK, both children and adults are vulnerable to TB and therefore will share in the intended health benefits. Furthermore, the country as a whole will benefit from the high profile investment and collaboration by the MRC into its long-established partnerships with West Africa, promoting the UK as an outward-looking and supportive international leader.
NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY-MAKERS
This Fellowship proposal is grounded in the research priorities set by the World Health Organization to meet their goals of zero childhood TB deaths and elimination of the disease by 2050. The research outputs generated will feed back into the policy-makers' arena through driving the research agenda, funding streams, and guiding vaccine development.
INDUSTRY
Translation of markers of protection identified into a format that can be rapidly employed in clinical vaccine trials, and development of novel vaccines guided by protective phenotypes identified will be driven through academic collaboration with industry.
MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
This Fellowship proposal compliments all four components of the mission of the MRC through aiming to improve human health and wellbeing; training a clinician in scientific research at the highest level; improving the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the UK through protecting children in high prevalence TB urban areas within the UK and the benefits to industry; and promoting dialogue with the public through the communication plan. It also fits with the MRC's Strategic Aim One Research Priority Theme One - Natural Protection within Resilience, Repair and Replacement. It is also in perfect sync with Strategic Aim Three - accelerating progress in international health research. Through the funding of the CTRF and supporting a further collaboration with the existing centre of excellence, The MRC Unit, The Gambia, existing streams of support and investment by the MRC can be strengthened and combined.
Children across the world are the primary intended beneficiaries of this fellowship proposal. There are manifold potential benefits for paediatric health. Markers of protection can provide a fundamental step forward in the development of a better vaccine to prevent infection and disease in TB, thereby helping to meet the goals of zero childhood TB deaths. Understanding the role of inflammation, and using a discovery-generating approach such as lipidomics will further the rapidly burgeoning field of understanding susceptibility to TB. Furthermore treatment of TB may be advanced with immunomodulatory adjunctive treatments to directly anti-tuberculous therapy.
ADULTS AT RISK OF TB
It is not only children who have the potential to benefit from this study, but adults too. Adults with pulmonary TB and a high bacillary burden are the primary mode of transmission to both children and adults. By understanding prevention of infection through this fellowship proposal, vaccines that prevent latent infection, and thereby subsequent reactivation in disease in adult populations will both prevent cases directly, but also prevent transmission, thereby having a dramatic effect upon TB epidemiology.
THE GAMBIAN AND WEST AFRICAN PUBLIC
The people of Gambia and West African region will directly and indirectly benefit from the MRC's investment in resources and people at the MRC Unit in The Gambia. This will come about through the skills development of those involved directly in working on the Fellowship, as well as indirectly through ancillary staff and broader economic impacts upon the community around the Unit. It will also contribute to the excellent track record of high quality research and scientific endeavour in The Gambia and the region as a whole.
THE UK
Particularly in urban areas of the UK, both children and adults are vulnerable to TB and therefore will share in the intended health benefits. Furthermore, the country as a whole will benefit from the high profile investment and collaboration by the MRC into its long-established partnerships with West Africa, promoting the UK as an outward-looking and supportive international leader.
NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY-MAKERS
This Fellowship proposal is grounded in the research priorities set by the World Health Organization to meet their goals of zero childhood TB deaths and elimination of the disease by 2050. The research outputs generated will feed back into the policy-makers' arena through driving the research agenda, funding streams, and guiding vaccine development.
INDUSTRY
Translation of markers of protection identified into a format that can be rapidly employed in clinical vaccine trials, and development of novel vaccines guided by protective phenotypes identified will be driven through academic collaboration with industry.
MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
This Fellowship proposal compliments all four components of the mission of the MRC through aiming to improve human health and wellbeing; training a clinician in scientific research at the highest level; improving the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the UK through protecting children in high prevalence TB urban areas within the UK and the benefits to industry; and promoting dialogue with the public through the communication plan. It also fits with the MRC's Strategic Aim One Research Priority Theme One - Natural Protection within Resilience, Repair and Replacement. It is also in perfect sync with Strategic Aim Three - accelerating progress in international health research. Through the funding of the CTRF and supporting a further collaboration with the existing centre of excellence, The MRC Unit, The Gambia, existing streams of support and investment by the MRC can be strengthened and combined.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- National Film and Television School (Collaboration)
- UNICEF (Collaboration)
- Victoria and Albert Museum (Collaboration)
- MsUnderstood Partnership (Collaboration)
- Handicap International (Collaboration)
- Children and War Foundation (Collaboration)
- School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) (Collaboration)
- QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (Collaboration)
- Royal Society of Medicine (Collaboration)
- British Film Institute (BFI) (Collaboration)
- London Borough of Camden (Collaboration)
- Foundling Museum (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Minas Gerais (Collaboration)
- The Association Of Child Psychotherapists (Collaboration)
- European Paediatric TB Network (Collaboration)
- Fostering Network (Collaboration)
- Medical Research Council (MRC) (Collaboration)
- British Association of Social Work (Collaboration)
- Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET) (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- Wellcome Trust (Collaboration)
- YoungMinds (Collaboration)
- The Cinema Museum (Collaboration)
- Tsinghua University China (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EXETER (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Collaboration)
- Royal Anthropological Institute (Collaboration)
- International Rescue Committee (Collaboration)
- Holocaust Education Trust (Collaboration)
- BRUNEL UNIVERSITY LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE (Collaboration)
- RESULTS UK (Collaboration)
- Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GHANA (Collaboration)
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (Collaboration)
- United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Robindra Basu Roy (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Andreas NJ
(2020)
Performance of metabonomic serum analysis for diagnostics in paediatric tuberculosis.
in Scientific reports
Basu Roy R
(2016)
Why the Convention on the Rights of the Child must become a guiding framework for the realization of the rights of children affected by tuberculosis.
in BMC international health and human rights
Basu Roy R
(2020)
Performance of immune-based and microbiological tests in children with tuberculosis meningitis in Europe: a multicentre Paediatric Tuberculosis Network European Trials Group (ptbnet) study.
in The European respiratory journal
Basu Roy R
(2019)
A prescription for cinematic lenses on child and adolescent health
in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Basu Roy R
(2017)
Linezolid for Children With Tuberculous Meningitis: More Evidence Required.
in The Pediatric infectious disease journal
Basu Roy R
(2019)
An Auto-luminescent Fluorescent BCG Whole Blood Assay to Enable Evaluation of Paediatric Mycobacterial Responses Using Minimal Blood Volumes.
in Frontiers in pediatrics
Basu Roy R
(2019)
Tuberculosis susceptibility and protection in children.
in The Lancet. Infectious diseases
Basu Roy Robindra
(2018)
Protection from Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection : learning from exposed but uninfected children
Broger T
(2017)
Diagnostic Performance of Tuberculosis-Specific IgG Antibody Profiles in Patients with Presumptive Tuberculosis from Two Continents.
in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
| Title | Cinema of Childhood - Using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Description | Film has a unique capacity to fire the imagination, to make real the abstract, and to sweep the viewer alongside the protagonist on their journey. Movies provide an accessible, vivid and collective experience that triggers both shared emotions and contrasting perspectives. It therefore offers a remarkable opportunity to bring together disparate groups in a non-threatening environment enabling interdisciplinary discussion of shared experience. We have been showing films from the Cinema of Childhood season and pairing them with interdisciplinary panel discussions about the Arts and Child Health. Partners have included The Royal Society of Medicine, Institute of Education, The College of Social Work, and Association of Child & Adolescent Mental Health. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Impact | Illustrative quotes from attending screenings followed by child well-being discussions: "I thought the film and discussion were awesome... as I said, one of the best and coolest things I've done in London. I thought it was well-attended and the combination of a kick-ass panel and engaged audience meant for a really great conversation. Loved it. Thanks tons." (From a professional working with blind children having watched The Unseen with her son): "This is a fantastic film series and I would like to say thanks and congratulations for yesterday's event. It took a little persuading to get my son along but the experience inspired him to decide that we would walk home across the park from the Tube, with him leading me and giving an audio description along the way. I had to keep my eyes shut and did. This was a very interesting experience and made me realise that although I have dabbled with trying to do certain tasks without sight, that this was the first time I had been set the task of doing it for so long. Upon our arrival home he got me to make a cup of tea still sightless, and then set me to identifying certain things from the kitchen table still without sight." "the only other time you'd get a group like this together is if it was a child protection case review" "the opportunity to reflect on childhood issues when there isn't direct professional involvement. It makes it both less real (and therefore easier to discuss), but also more real because film immerses you in the child's experience in a way that no clinic or ward encounter could ever do." "the film-discussion format is a great teaching resource and a valid alternative to observing people (patients) in the clinic setting. It allows a much larger group than could be accommodated in a clinic, to discuss and form hypotheses or formulations about people's behaviour from direct observation. Getting people to think about what they have seen is a great way to train healthcare professionals and medical educators to develop a more psychologised practice. Essential in paediatrics." "could not agree more, same for Child psychiatry." "we take away lasting images, many disturbing, which stretch our thinking" |
| URL | http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/events/watch-talk-think-film-series/ |
| Description | Case accepted for Walter Marget Workshop, European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Attending and presenting case to audience of young paediatricians specialising in Paediatric Infectious Diseases based on clinical experiences in The Gambia, where I was based for my clinical research. |
| URL | http://www.espid.org/content.aspx?Group=education&Page=espid%20walter%20marget%20workshop%20guidelin... |
| Description | Childhood TB Training Program, The Gambia |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Member of teaching faculty for course held in Basse, Upper River Region, The Gambia. The training module is an up to date and scientifically sound material developed by the Childhood TB Program and spans the epidemiological, clinical, social and operational issues surrounding childhood TB with special emphasis on the Gambian context. Reach4Kids Training targets Clinicians, Local leprosy/TB inspectors and other staff of TB clinics, Outpatient nurses, Reproductive and Child health staff, Community Health nurses and other healthcare workers who deal with sick children in their routine work in the Upper River, Central River, Lower River and North bank regions of The Gambia. Due to funding limitations, these areas were not covered during an initial training project of the Childhood TB team, which concentrated on health workers in the West Coast Region. Training is delivered over 2 days as a series of didactic teachings, interactive sessions, group activities and role plays. Nearly 120 health workers have already been trained in the first round of training across the 4 regions. A second round will commence later in November and will cover other nominated health workers who could not attend the first round. It is expected that the knowledge and skills acquired by health workers in this training will help them recognise and properly manage or refer more children sick with TB. This way, many more lives of children with TB will be saved and many more children will be prevented from having the disease in the first place. Working directly with the Government of the Gambia through the NLTP has placed this training grant in a vantage position to swiftly impact policy as the results and the impacts of the training are being shared in real time. |
| URL | http://www.mrc.gm/the-tdr-childhood-tb-impact-training-takes-off-in-earnest/ |
| Description | Citation as reference number 3 in World Health Organisation 2018 Roadmap towards ending TB in children and adolescents |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://www.who.int/tb/publications/2018/tb-childhoodroadmap/en/ |
| Description | Citation in TB Diagnostics Pipeline Report: The failure of this study to demonstrate sufficient discriminatory capacity was cited prior to the following recommendation from the Treatment Action Group 2017 TB Diagnostics Pipeline Report (http://www.pipelinereport.org/2017/tbdx): "A conventional antigen-based IgG detection test would therefore be unlikely to meet target product profile requirements, and does not merit further investment of limited TB R&D resources." |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | http://www.pipelinereport.org/2017/tbdx |
| Description | Invited to be Paediatric TB Network Representative on TBNET Academy in Armenia |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Invited to be the paediatric TB network representative on this TBNET training academy that takes place in Eastern Europe every year (where the burden of MDR-TB is highest in Europe) 3-Day Tuberculosis Academy especially for students, residents, fellows, doctoral students and post-docs (up to 3 years post exam). A forum for young clinicians and researchers in the field of tuberculosis to exchange ideas and to learn from each other under expert guidance and mentorship. The TBnet Academy 2017 will take place in Yerevan, Armenia. Please find the application form by clicking on the image below. Deadline for application is 24th February 2017 The TBNET academy provides an excellent forum for 20 young European clinicians and researchers in the field of tuberculosis to exchange ideas and to learn from each other under expert guidance and mentorship. It is a very good opportunity for upcoming researchers to participate in a pan-European research network, to get to know colleagues in the same field from different parts of Europe and to plan future collaborations. Everyone who will take part in the TBNET Academy will have an active role. Participants will be selected on basis of their motivation letter, research experience and career plans. They can choose among 5 categories: 1. TB Epidemiology 2. TB diagnostics 3. TB Prevention 4. TB treatment 5. Clinical pearls (case reports) and will be asked to provide a state-of-the-art lecture on their topic or clinical case report together with colleagues from other countries. The presentations will be prepared under guidance of experienced mentors. Apart from keynote lectures and career development sessions there will be a teaching ward round at the national MDR-TB center and visit to the national TB laboratory. The TBNET Academy is open for interested medical students who perform research in the area of tuberculosis or NTM diseases . Clinicans and scientists who apply should have had their last academic exam within 3 years of the application. Distributed representation of participants throughout Europe will be ensured. Participation in the TBNET Academy will be funded with travel/accommodation stipends up to the amount of 500 Euros per person. Travel and accommodation will be booked by the TBNET office for those 20 applicants who will be selected. |
| URL | http://www.tb-net.org/index.php/tb-net-cats/item/104-tbnet-academy-17 |
| Description | Academy of Medical Sciences Starter Grants for Clinical Lecturers Scheme |
| Amount | £30,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SGL019\1045 |
| Organisation | Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2018 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | Bloomsbury Colleges PhD Studentships - Public Understandings of Fertility, Pregnancy or Postnatal Health: A Cultural History' |
| Amount | £65,355 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | http://www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/studentships/2021/public-understandings-of-fertility-pregnancy-or-postnatal-health-a-cultural-history |
| Organisation | Bloomsbury Colleges |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2021 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Experimental Medicine Proposal, Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) |
| Amount | £95,952 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
| Department | NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2015 |
| End | 06/2016 |
| Description | Full Scholarship, Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program |
| Amount | $10,500 (USD) |
| Organisation | Harvard University |
| Department | Harvard Medical School |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 07/2013 |
| End | 07/2014 |
| Description | Identifying correlates of risk for future tuberculosis disease progression in children (INTREPID) |
| Amount | $3,500,000 (USD) |
| Funding ID | 1R01AI175235 |
| Organisation | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 05/2028 |
| Description | Joint PhD Programme for Global Health LSHTM and Nagasaki University: SURE+DP: improving Diagnosis and Prognosis for paediatric tuberculous meningitis through the SURE treatment trial |
| Amount | ￥13,200,000 (JPY) |
| Organisation | Nagasaki University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 08/2021 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Medical Research Foundation Dorothy Temple Cross TB International Collaboration Grants |
| Amount | £30,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | https://www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/news/the-dorothy-temple-cross-fund-uniting-against-tb |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Department | Medical Research Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | SURE+DP: improving Diagnosis and Prognosis for paediatric tuberculous meningitis through the SURE treatment trial |
| Amount | £249,917 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SURE+DP: improving Diagnosis and Prognosis for paediatric tuberculous meningitis through the SURE treatment trial |
| Organisation | Meningitis Now |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2020 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Small Grant Award |
| Amount | € 5,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 02/2014 |
| End | 12/2014 |
| Description | Small Grants Award Scheme |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Grant reference number: GR000763, applicant ID: 0017140 |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2017 |
| End | 04/2019 |
| Description | Tropical Infectious Disease Consortium: Expanding and Accelerating Product Development |
| Amount | £46,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MC_PC_18055 |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2019 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | VALIDATE pump-priming grant application October 2019 Project: Cytomegalovirus as a risk factor for TB and leishmaniasis |
| Amount | £39,301 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | P034 (co-applicant) |
| Organisation | The VALIDATE Network - Vaccine development for complex intracellular neglected pathogens |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start | 02/2020 |
| End | 02/2021 |
| Title | Dual Reporter Fluorescent and Luminescent Mycobacteria |
| Description | Developed new genetically-modified mycobacterial strains that are constitutively luminescent and fluorescent, thereby enabling use of human whole blood in an in vitro assay to simultaneously measure mycobacterial growth by luminesence, and nature and characteristics of infected cells by flow cytometry. |
| Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - human |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Substantial decrease in paediatric blood volumes required for human-sample based model of tuberculosis and opens up options for flow cytometry and microscopy-based assay not previously possible. Received requests from 4 internationally renowned research groups requesting use of the recombinant mycobacteria for their studies. |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2019.00151 |
| Description | Analysis of RNA-sequencing data from MTB-exposed Gambian children |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Paediatrics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of whole blood stored in PaxGene tubes suitable for RNA sequencing and contribution to the analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RNA sequencing will be carried out with the High-Throughput Genomics Unit of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. Analysis will be carried out with Dr Saikou Bah, a Gambian colleague with a bioinformatics PhD from the University of Edinburgh, who is now a Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Initiative (DELTA) post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Ghana. This is alongside an existing partnership with Imperial College London with my PhD supervisor, Professor Beate Kampmann, and the bioinformatics teams of Professor Mike Levin and Dr Myrsini Kaforou, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow. |
| Impact | RSTM&H Small Grant awarded and outcome awaited from Academy of Medical Sciences Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant application |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Analysis of RNA-sequencing data from MTB-exposed Gambian children |
| Organisation | University of Ghana |
| Country | Ghana |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of whole blood stored in PaxGene tubes suitable for RNA sequencing and contribution to the analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RNA sequencing will be carried out with the High-Throughput Genomics Unit of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. Analysis will be carried out with Dr Saikou Bah, a Gambian colleague with a bioinformatics PhD from the University of Edinburgh, who is now a Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Initiative (DELTA) post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Ghana. This is alongside an existing partnership with Imperial College London with my PhD supervisor, Professor Beate Kampmann, and the bioinformatics teams of Professor Mike Levin and Dr Myrsini Kaforou, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow. |
| Impact | RSTM&H Small Grant awarded and outcome awaited from Academy of Medical Sciences Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant application |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Analysis of RNA-sequencing data from MTB-exposed Gambian children |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Provision of whole blood stored in PaxGene tubes suitable for RNA sequencing and contribution to the analysis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | RNA sequencing will be carried out with the High-Throughput Genomics Unit of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. Analysis will be carried out with Dr Saikou Bah, a Gambian colleague with a bioinformatics PhD from the University of Edinburgh, who is now a Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Initiative (DELTA) post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Ghana. This is alongside an existing partnership with Imperial College London with my PhD supervisor, Professor Beate Kampmann, and the bioinformatics teams of Professor Mike Levin and Dr Myrsini Kaforou, Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow. |
| Impact | RSTM&H Small Grant awarded and outcome awaited from Academy of Medical Sciences Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant application |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Collaboration with Centre for Infectious Diseases, Tsinghua University School of Medicine |
| Organisation | Tsinghua University China |
| Department | Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | I worked with Professor Javid on surface proteome of mycobacteria-infected macrophages during my NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship and subsequently. This collaboration has since been built upon through data from my PhD with an experimental observation derived from the clinical cohort of TB-exposed children recruited to my PhD project funded by the MRC. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Functional in vitro follow-up of findings from proteome screen of mycobacteria-infected macrophages and of inflammatory responses in response to mycobacteria from TB-exposed children. |
| Impact | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01086/full Manuscript in preparation. Tsinghua is providing basic microbiology scientific contributions whilst we are providing data derived from patient cohorts to investigate leading to a translational medicine collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | Development of fluorescent-protein luciferase mycobacterial constructs |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Paediatric/clinical perspectives, expertise, research questions and epidemiological framework/samples from The Gambia. Complementary cell death, and metabolomic assays |
| Collaborator Contribution | Training and development with genetically modified mycobacteria. |
| Impact | Collaboration commenced at same time as this Fellowship |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | European paediatric TB Network |
| Organisation | European Paediatric TB Network |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Collation, analysis, and successful publication of pooled retrospective data |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of multi-centre data on tuberculin skin test and Interferon Gamma Release Assays in children evaluated for LTBI. Ongoing involvement in network wide cohort of children with TB meningitis |
| Impact | Identifying predictors of interferon-gamma release assay results in pediatric latent tuberculosis: a protective role of BCG? R Basu Roy, G Sotgiu, N Altet, M Tsolia, E Ruga, S Velizarova, and B Kampmann. Am J of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine. 2012; 186: 378-384 |
| Start Year | 2011 |
| Description | Fellowship study - MRC Gambia |
| Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Department | MRC Unit, The Gambia |
| Country | Gambia |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I will transfer methodologies developed at Imperial College London to MRC Gambia and apply them to clinically important phenotypes in TB-exposed children in The Gambia |
| Collaborator Contribution | Epidemiological framework for TB contact investigations and laboratory facilities. Local expertise and scientific supervision. |
| Impact | Due to go out to Gambia in mid-2014 |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | Functional antibody responses in MTB-exposed Gambian children |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Oxford Vaccine Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Academy of Medical Sciences Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant application submitted March 2018 - £30,000 applied for. I am providing the samples from my PhD thesis and this MRC award. I will carry out the following experiments evaluating MTB-specific antibody effector functions, specifically: a. Antibody-dependent natural killer (NK) cell activation assay b. Antibody-dependent neutrophil phagocytosis c. Antibody-dependent monocyte phagocytosis |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Jenny Hill, postdoctoral researcher at the Oxford Vaccine Group has spent several months learning the techniques at the Alter lab at Harvard Medical School, has applied them to typhoid immunology, and is transferring the method to the Oxford Vaccine Group. |
| Impact | Awaiting outcome of grant application. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | British Association of Social Work |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Learned Society |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | British Film Institute (BFI) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Brunel University London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Children and War Foundation |
| Country | Norway |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Fostering Network |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Foundling Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Handicap International |
| Country | Global |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Holocaust Education Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | International Rescue Committee |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Department | Department of Film Studies |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Department | Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | London Borough of Camden |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | MsUnderstood Partnership |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | National Film and Television School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Department | Department of Russian |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Queen Mary University of London |
| Department | School of Engineering and Materials Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Royal Anthropological Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Medicine |
| Department | Paediatrics & Child Health Section |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Learned Society |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Staffordshire University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | The Association Of Child Psychotherapists |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | The Cinema Museum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Tropical Health & Education Trust (THET) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Hospitals |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Institute For Global Health |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Institute of Education (IOE) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | University of Bedfordshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Department | Department of Politics and International Relations |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Department of Psychiatry |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | Victoria and Albert Museum |
| Department | V&A Museum of Childhood |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary public engagement partnerships - using great films to think about child wellbeing |
| Organisation | YoungMinds |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I organize screenings of great films about childhood in cultural venues followed by panel discussions that I chair about the child wellbeing and the sociocultural issues raised by the films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributing speakers for panel discussions, venues for hosting the events, and circulating details of the events to their members and engaged audiences. |
| Impact | 13 events (as of March 2017) with 20-50 audience members at each event. Previous events: http://www.cinemaofchildhood.com/childwellbeing/; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=155698; https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=164181; http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/user27/FINAL%20Programme.pdf URL provided below is most recent series of events. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Viet Nam - Preparation for postdoctoral Career Development Research Fellowship |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Vietnam (OUCRU) |
| Country | Viet Nam |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | PhD to Postdoctoral transition travel award, MRC Supplement Scheme, Imperial College London. To visit Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Presented my PhD research on eicosanoids and paediatric TB infection to this world-leading group with a view to developing postdoctoral Fellowship proposal. Engaged with researchers, clinicians, and national TB programme officials. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Strong background in clinical trials in adult TB meningitis and basic science research into role of eicosanoids and inflammation in TB pathogenesis. |
| Impact | Fellowship application in due course. Disciplines: Clinical Trials Paediatric Hospitals National TB programme |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Results UK - collaboration with TB policy and advocacy group |
| Organisation | RESULTS UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Contacted this UK advocacy and policy engagement group that works on TB to highlight our work on human rights and childhood TB |
| Collaborator Contribution | Preparing general readership documents for engagement with general public and policy makers (All Party Parliamentary Group) about leveraging human rights to support children and families affected by TB. |
| Impact | Collaborative piece in preparation combined with circulation to All Party Parliamentary Group |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Targeted metabolomic analysis of eicosanoids |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Surgery and Cancer |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of clinical, paediatric, and tuberculosis perspectives, research questions, and epidemiological framework/samples from The Gambia. Complementary experiments to metabolomic analysis (mycobacterial growth and cell death modality) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellowship sponsored by Professor Elaine Holmes. Training includes participation in the Stratigrad Doctoral Training Program & Metabolic Phenotyping in Disease: Diagnosis & Personalised Health Care Course. Mass spectrometric analysis techniques will be learnt and undertaken within this collaboration. |
| Impact | My collaboration commenced at same time as Fellowship. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | UNICEF - Interdisciplinary collaboration with human rights teams, international non-governmental organisations, and academic infectious diseases paediatricians |
| Organisation | UNICEF |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I am the first author on a scholarly article written with Human Rights Specialists and Health Specialists from UNICEF to describe how the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be leveraged to improve the situation of children affected by TB worldwide, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and advocacy to prevent professionals working in their respective silos |
| Collaborator Contribution | Contributed human rights expertise. |
| Impact | http://bmcinthealthhumrights.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12914-016-0105-z Human Rights Lawyers, UNICEF Health Policy Specialists, UNICEF Academic Paediatricians, Imperial College London |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Use of high throughput mass spectrometry for potential TB diagnostics |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Concept & Idea Access to TB-derived compounds Access to patient samples |
| Collaborator Contribution | Mass Spectrometry expertise and running samples |
| Impact | Still ongoing |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | VALIDATE partnership - CMV, TB and Leishmaniasis |
| Organisation | Federal University of Minas Gerais |
| Country | Brazil |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Main aims and objectives The aims of this project are to investigate CMV and cmvIL-10 as drivers of VL disease, and acquisition of M.tb infection. The project will make use of stored serum from three cohorts: • a cohort investigated for TB disease (25 TB sputum smear positive cases with samples taken at time points prior to TB diagnosis and matched controls from Uganda) • a paediatric TB infection study (22 matched pairs of highly exposed children from the Gambia, one of which was infected with TB - by TST positivity) • a cohort of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), with matched controls from Brazil (50 VL cases and 50 TL cases with PCR-confirmed infection and with a range of clinical severity, and 50 non-leishmania controls) This project connects researchers from the University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This will be a new collaboration between OVG and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and will be a new collaboration between existing VALIDATE members. This project has two early career researchers as lead and the first co-applicant and includes two VALIDATE pathogens. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The lead applicant of this project is an early career researcher with ambition to obtain her own funding and develop a programme of research. The opportunity to deliver this project would be a major step towards achieving this through building reputation and publications, establishing potential long-term collaborative partners, and developing the skills and knowledge required to manage larger research projects. Specifically, this project will provide preliminary data with which Dr. Stockdale hopes to form into an MRC Fellowship application. Dr Basu Roy is an Early Career Clinical Researcher and this proposal would enable his academic interests to expand beyond TB to other intracellular pathogens and develop collaborations with Brazil. This would strengthen a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship application in due course. Dr. Vi´viann Tamietti Martins is an early career researcher and this proposal would enable her academic interests to expand beyond leishmanaisis to other intracellular and/or neglected pathogens and develop collaborations with other countries. This project will conduct deeper analysis of existing samples from areas of the world where TB and leishmaniasis are important diseases with high mortality rates in untreated cases. Increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is leading to treatment failures and diminish the utility of antibiotics for other diseases, necessitating development of vaccines. Neither TB nor leishmaniasis have robust correlates of risk, protection, or severity of disease. Understanding if this ubiquitous human herpes virus is implicated in increased risk against these pathogens will be an important step in understanding the mechanism by which the human immune system is conditioned to become more susceptible to development of disease. With that information, not only will there be more impetus behind development of a CMV vaccine, but we will have more information with which to feed back into TB- and Leishmania-specific vaccine research. This project addresses the Foreign and Commonwealth Oversees Development Assistance strategy to tackle extreme poverty and helping the world's most vulnerable, in addition to promoting global prosperity. The cycle of lack of access to healthcare compounded by illness, stigmatisation, inability to work and further impoverishment is unlikely to be solved solely by vaccination, however TB and Leishmaniasis disproportionately affect the poorest in society and so that would be the demographic group most likely to benefit from this research by ultimately alleviating the cycle of poverty associated with poor health. |
| Impact | Immunology Clinical Paediatric Infectious Diseases - TB Leishmaniasis Virology Intra-cellular pathogens. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | VALIDATE partnership - CMV, TB and Leishmaniasis |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Oxford Vaccine Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Main aims and objectives The aims of this project are to investigate CMV and cmvIL-10 as drivers of VL disease, and acquisition of M.tb infection. The project will make use of stored serum from three cohorts: • a cohort investigated for TB disease (25 TB sputum smear positive cases with samples taken at time points prior to TB diagnosis and matched controls from Uganda) • a paediatric TB infection study (22 matched pairs of highly exposed children from the Gambia, one of which was infected with TB - by TST positivity) • a cohort of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), with matched controls from Brazil (50 VL cases and 50 TL cases with PCR-confirmed infection and with a range of clinical severity, and 50 non-leishmania controls) This project connects researchers from the University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This will be a new collaboration between OVG and the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and will be a new collaboration between existing VALIDATE members. This project has two early career researchers as lead and the first co-applicant and includes two VALIDATE pathogens. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The lead applicant of this project is an early career researcher with ambition to obtain her own funding and develop a programme of research. The opportunity to deliver this project would be a major step towards achieving this through building reputation and publications, establishing potential long-term collaborative partners, and developing the skills and knowledge required to manage larger research projects. Specifically, this project will provide preliminary data with which Dr. Stockdale hopes to form into an MRC Fellowship application. Dr Basu Roy is an Early Career Clinical Researcher and this proposal would enable his academic interests to expand beyond TB to other intracellular pathogens and develop collaborations with Brazil. This would strengthen a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship application in due course. Dr. Vi´viann Tamietti Martins is an early career researcher and this proposal would enable her academic interests to expand beyond leishmanaisis to other intracellular and/or neglected pathogens and develop collaborations with other countries. This project will conduct deeper analysis of existing samples from areas of the world where TB and leishmaniasis are important diseases with high mortality rates in untreated cases. Increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance is leading to treatment failures and diminish the utility of antibiotics for other diseases, necessitating development of vaccines. Neither TB nor leishmaniasis have robust correlates of risk, protection, or severity of disease. Understanding if this ubiquitous human herpes virus is implicated in increased risk against these pathogens will be an important step in understanding the mechanism by which the human immune system is conditioned to become more susceptible to development of disease. With that information, not only will there be more impetus behind development of a CMV vaccine, but we will have more information with which to feed back into TB- and Leishmania-specific vaccine research. This project addresses the Foreign and Commonwealth Oversees Development Assistance strategy to tackle extreme poverty and helping the world's most vulnerable, in addition to promoting global prosperity. The cycle of lack of access to healthcare compounded by illness, stigmatisation, inability to work and further impoverishment is unlikely to be solved solely by vaccination, however TB and Leishmaniasis disproportionately affect the poorest in society and so that would be the demographic group most likely to benefit from this research by ultimately alleviating the cycle of poverty associated with poor health. |
| Impact | Immunology Clinical Paediatric Infectious Diseases - TB Leishmaniasis Virology Intra-cellular pathogens. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Zebrafish biology and clinical respiratory medicine collaborations: Pulmonary arterial hypertension agents as adjunctive host-directed therapy for tuberculosis - a dual benefit of enhanced mycobacterial control and prevention of post-TB lung disease? |
| Organisation | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
| Department | Department of Immunology and Infection |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Principal Investigator - using pilot data from my PhD I built the collaboration, sought the partners, led the application for funding and provided joint oversight of the experimental plans and data interpretation. Preliminary experimental data included in grant application to Tropical Infectious Diseases Consortium MRC Confidence in Concept : Pilot data suggesting a role for the prostacyclin axis in protective human mycobacterial immunity was gathered from my PhD. From the literature, the pathway is also differentially expressed following M. tuberculosis infection of primary macrophages from Vietnamese adults with latent TB infection, and prostacyclin metabolites are also enriched in the periphery of human granulomas. Prostacyclin is a biologically plausible host mediator as this vasoactive eicosanoid also modulates inflammation and acts upon both innate immune cells, including macrophages, neutrophils, Natural Killer cells, and adaptive T- and B-cells. We have shown functional relevance with enhanced mycobacterial killing in vitro using the clinical pulmonary hypertension drug treprostinil with human monocyte cell culture and Mycobacterium abscessus and potentially Mycobacterium tuberculosis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | These research questions were planned through a combination of clinical and experimental approaches: Laboratory study Aim: To study the interaction between the prostacyclin pathway, mycobacterial infection, and vascular pathology in vivo using the zebrafish infection model. Together with Professor Mostowy research group, as a result of the Tropical Infectious Diseases Consortium Confidence in Concept funding as of September 2021 we have been able to test the hypothesis whether treprostinil would enhance mycobacterial killing in vivo using the zebrafish mycobacterial infection model. There was a dramatic host-mediated anti-mycobacterial effect for the intrinsicially drug resistant human pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus providing strong supportive data to further investigate a clinically relevant treatment in the face of global health challenges of antimicrobial resistance. Data from these experiments will be included in a manuscript that is in preparation for submission to a recognised high impact translational medicine journal. Outcomes: A postdoctoral research fellow was employed on the grant of which I was PI (MRC Confidence in Concept), whom I line managed. He introduced a new pathogen into the experimental repertoire of the Mostowy group (M Abscessus) and using pharmacological agonists and CRISPRant technology demonstrated the key receptor acted upon by an adjunctive therapy that enhances killing of intrinsically drug-resistant mycobacterium abscessus in an in vivo model. This data will go into an impactful publication and also provide the basis for future grant applications. |
| Impact | Zebrafish infection model: https://themostowylab.org/ |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Zebrafish biology and clinical respiratory medicine collaborations: Pulmonary arterial hypertension agents as adjunctive host-directed therapy for tuberculosis - a dual benefit of enhanced mycobacterial control and prevention of post-TB lung disease? |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Department | Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme |
| Country | Malawi |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Principal Investigator - using pilot data from my PhD I built the collaboration, sought the partners, led the application for funding and provided joint oversight of the experimental plans and data interpretation. Preliminary experimental data included in grant application to Tropical Infectious Diseases Consortium MRC Confidence in Concept : Pilot data suggesting a role for the prostacyclin axis in protective human mycobacterial immunity was gathered from my PhD. From the literature, the pathway is also differentially expressed following M. tuberculosis infection of primary macrophages from Vietnamese adults with latent TB infection, and prostacyclin metabolites are also enriched in the periphery of human granulomas. Prostacyclin is a biologically plausible host mediator as this vasoactive eicosanoid also modulates inflammation and acts upon both innate immune cells, including macrophages, neutrophils, Natural Killer cells, and adaptive T- and B-cells. We have shown functional relevance with enhanced mycobacterial killing in vitro using the clinical pulmonary hypertension drug treprostinil with human monocyte cell culture and Mycobacterium abscessus and potentially Mycobacterium tuberculosis. |
| Collaborator Contribution | These research questions were planned through a combination of clinical and experimental approaches: Laboratory study Aim: To study the interaction between the prostacyclin pathway, mycobacterial infection, and vascular pathology in vivo using the zebrafish infection model. Together with Professor Mostowy research group, as a result of the Tropical Infectious Diseases Consortium Confidence in Concept funding as of September 2021 we have been able to test the hypothesis whether treprostinil would enhance mycobacterial killing in vivo using the zebrafish mycobacterial infection model. There was a dramatic host-mediated anti-mycobacterial effect for the intrinsicially drug resistant human pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus providing strong supportive data to further investigate a clinically relevant treatment in the face of global health challenges of antimicrobial resistance. Data from these experiments will be included in a manuscript that is in preparation for submission to a recognised high impact translational medicine journal. Outcomes: A postdoctoral research fellow was employed on the grant of which I was PI (MRC Confidence in Concept), whom I line managed. He introduced a new pathogen into the experimental repertoire of the Mostowy group (M Abscessus) and using pharmacological agonists and CRISPRant technology demonstrated the key receptor acted upon by an adjunctive therapy that enhances killing of intrinsically drug-resistant mycobacterium abscessus in an in vivo model. This data will go into an impactful publication and also provide the basis for future grant applications. |
| Impact | Zebrafish infection model: https://themostowylab.org/ |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Bergman Estate on Fårö Residency to develop child wellbeing film screenings and panel discussions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Awarded a one week residency on Bergman Estate on Fårö to pursue and develop my childhood film screenings and panel discussions. Used this time to develop website: www.watchtalkthink.com and write and publish piece in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health: A prescription for cinematic lenses on child and adolescent health https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30240-8/fulltext How does an infectious diseases paediatrician come to be sitting at the late world-renowned filmmaker Ingmar Bergman's desk on the Swedish island of Fårö, gazing out at the Baltic Sea? ... |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30240-8/fulltext |
| Description | General interest piece on human rights and childhood TB for Imperial College website and newsletters |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was first author on an interdisciplinary scholarly article on the use of human rights as a tool to improve the care of children affected by TB worldwide. Was in collaboration with UNICEF (see collaborations). To help the article's message reach a broader audience, I worked with the Imperial College Digital Communications Team to write this general interest piece that went on the Imperial College website, Imperial Today email newsletter, Faculty of Medicine email newsletter |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/medicine/newssummary/news_17-2-2017-16... |
| Description | Projections of pregnancy: art as the voice for the unheard - article in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and film screenings at Foundling Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article published in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health to accompany three film screenings and panel discussion related to pregnancy. We return to the Foundling Museum with three film screenings that touch on contemporary issues related to pregnancy to compliment the new Portraying Pregnancy exhibition. Each film is followed by a Q&A session with film critics, reproductive health experts, and historians. Friday 28th February 2020: 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days Cristian Mungiu's Palme D'Or-winning "4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days" follows two college room-mates seeking an illegal abortion in communist-era Romania. (trailer) Friday 27th March 2020: Roma Alfonso Cuarón's award-laden "Roma" has Cleo's pregnancy at its core in this masterpiece set in 1970s Mexico. (trailer) Friday 24th April 2020: Private Life We conclude with Tamara Jenkins' comedy-drama "Private Life" where a middle-aged couple struggle to conceive and are running out of options. (trailer) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.watchtalkthink.com |
| Description | School visit (St Albans) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion about medical versus scientific careers, research versus practice, UK versus international, developed versus low and middle income Students were engaged and interested. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Using film to engage the public with issues of child health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Screenings of great films about childhood open to the public in a variety of academic and cultural venues followed by panel discussions with experts in child health, cinema, and the issues raised by the specific film. Question and Answer sessions with the audience to enable them to engage with experts in the field. URL below is to most recent event in 2019. Links to previous events: http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/events/watch-talk-think-film-season/. http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/events/watch-talk-think-film-season-2/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/events/refugee-week-event/ https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/fish-tank/ https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/florida-project/ Venues, Panellists, Partner organisations include: Foundling Museum V&A Museum of Childhood Royal Society of Medicine Tropical Health Education Trust University College London Imperial College London University of Oxford Great Ormond Street Hospital Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Royal Anthropological Institute College of Social Work British Association of Social Work University of Exeter Cinema Museum School of Oriental and African Studies Institute of Education Fostering Network Children and War Foundation King's College London Brunel University University of Bedfordshire MsUnderstood Partnership Staffordshire University Handicap International British Film Institute UK Council for Psychotherapy London Borough of Croydon Young Minds National Film and Television School Association of Child Psychotherapy Holocaust Education Trust Queen Mary University of London Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families The Childhood Trust BFI Forest Schools Association Birkbeck University |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019 |
| URL | https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/leave-no-trace/ |
| Description | World TB Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Took part in MRC Unit: The Gambia's National TB Day events in local community affected by TB from whom study recruits are drawn. Event included Question and Answer about TB, taking part in research studies, performances by local women's groups etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.mrc.gm/find-treat-cure-tb-world-tb-day-2015/ |