Platform Support

Research Platforms and Cohorts
An important proportion of research activities funded by a variety of donors is supported by research platforms, research services and professional services, mostly funded by MRC core funding.
There are 4 platforms. The health and demographic surveillance system cover a population of about 240,000 and collects data on births, deaths, immigration and emigration that allow estimating birth and mortality rates in the communities. The West Africa platform supports collaborative links with other West African institutions. The Clinical Research platform includes the MRCG clinical services and other Government health facilities, including the University Hospital, in which clinical studies and trials are carried out. The Tuberculosis Case Contact platform (TBCC) identifies TB-confirmed cases and their household contacts, and follow them for 2 years to determine the risk of TB infection and disease.

Research Services
Research services provide support to investigators. They are divided in two clusters, namely the research governance and support services (RGSS) and the laboratory services (LAB). The RGSS includes clinical trial
support, data management and statistics, research development and project management. Its activities go from the negotiation of contracts to implementation of clinical trials. The LAB includes all laboratory activities, plus the biobank and the biomedical engineering. This services are essential to carry out high-quality, world-class research.

The research platforms and the clinical cohorts represent the basis on which a large proportion of medical research funded through competitive grants is conducted. They provide an important competitive advantage when submitting research grants, the opportunity to carry out preliminary, exploratory work and to host PhD and career development students. All MRCG researchers have access to all platforms and cohorts. These include:
1. The health demographic surveillance systems in West Kiang, Farafenni and Basse, covering a total population of about 240,000 people;
2. The West Africa Collaboration on which the MRCG will further develop a stronger engagement in West Africa.
3. Clinical Research platform, now combining the MRCG clinical services, the Sukuta Health Centre and the paediatric ward of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul, and aimed at increasing and better coordinating clinical research.
4. Tuberculosis Case Contact platform that provides the ideal framework to identify correlates of protection and risk in populations who are TB-exposed, infected or diseased.
Previously structured in seven different sections, research services are now divided into two clusters,
• The research governance and support services (RGSS)
• Laboratory services.
The research governance and support services (RGSS) has been created with the aim of better coordinating activities between its different components (clinical trial support, data management and statistics, research development and project management) and thus providing support to investigators to carry out clinical research at the highest possible standards.
Laboratory Services includes all laboratory activities carried out at MRCG, plus the biobank and biomedical engineering, and is essential for producing world-class science. The clinical lab, the serology and TB labs have successfully achieved full GCLP accreditation and the more stringent ISO 15189 accreditation. Our laboratories are: Molecular diagnostics, Genomics, Immunology, Research Microbiology, Serology, Malaria & Entomology, TB diagnostics and Clinical Laboratories. The platforms also includes a Biomedical Engineering department