NDM International Activities Oxford University

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit based in Vietnam. OUCRU aims to have a positive and significant impact on global health and, in particular, the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. OUCRU enjoys the support of the Vietnamese government, and they work closely with the Ministry of Health Vietnam and the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City. OUCRU have developed strong links with more than 20 Vietnamese hospitals and research institutions including HTD, NHTD, The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), and Hanoi Medical University.

Priority is given to health issues important to the hospitals, and to Vietnam as a whole. All work is intended not only to benefit the patients seen daily at their host hospitals, but also to help improve patient care throughout Vietnam and the region. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Dr Trudie Lang tells us how the Global Health Network facilitates collaboration and resource sharing. Clinical trials establish the evidence base for prevention and treatment of disease and are critically important in the field of Global Health. Dr Trudie Lang leads the Global Health Clinical Trials group, which aims to promote and improve the conduct of non-commercial clinical research across all diseases in resource-poor settings.

Dr Jay Berkley tells us about his work on childhood nutrition and immunity in East Africa. Dr Jay Berkley works in the KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Collaborative Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya. His research interests include tackling infection and inflammation to prevent mortality in malnourished children. He is also an expert advisor on severe acute malnutrition to the Ministries of Health, and the World Health Organisation.

Professor Arjen Dondorp tells us about his work on severe malaria and the development of new therapies. Current malaria therapies using artesunate aim to kill malaria parasites before they mature. Such medications have high success rates but need to be developed further. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, Professor Arjen Dondorp works on the pathophysiology and treatments of severe malaria, antimalarial drug resistance, and improvements in intensive care practice within developing countries.

Professor Kevin Marsh tells us about his research on Tropical Medicine in Kenya. Professor Kevin Marsh has a broad research interest in child health in the tropics, with a particular focus on the immune epidemiology of malaria. Malaria remains a major world health problem, particularly among children in Africa. Based in Kenya, Professor Marsh is working on preventing and curing malaria in Africa. Professor Marsh is director of the KEMRI Wellcome Programme in Kenya; he also coordinates the malaria immunology group within the programme.

Professor Nick White talks about the future of artemisinin and other drug therapies for malaria. Malaria kills more than half a million people every year. Following a number of groundbreaking clinical trials, Professor Nick White and his Thailand team successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of artemisinin drug therapy for malaria in adults, children and infants. He also pioneered artemisinin combination therapy, the first-line treatment for malaria worldwide.