Grant awardees 2020

2020 - another record-breaking year

Over the last 3 years we have been able to award more and more small grants to early career researchers based across the world. In 2018 we awarded 16, in 2019 we awarded 50, and this year we will be awarding 124.

This enormous growth in 2020 from 50 to over 120 small grant has been made possible through partnerships with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research function of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Wellcome Trust, the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) and the Hamish Ogston Foundation who have provided funds to add to our existing budget. We would like to thank our partners who have made these awards possible.

RSTMH small grants often represent the first opportunity for those early in their careers to test out an idea and manage their own research project including budgeting, staffing, procurement, and producing reports. Our hope is they go on to publish or present their work and continue to develop their ideas into innovations and successful outcomes.

Wellcome Trust-funded awardees

  • Huda Khalid - Production of antibodies against the medically important snakes in Sudan, University of Khartoum, Sudan
  • Janna Margaretha Schurer - Snakebite envenomation in Rwanda: A One Health assessment of incidence, demographics, and care-seeking behaviors, The University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda
  • Joan Tusabe - Perspectives of rural communities in the management of snake bite envenoming, Makerere University Centre for Health and Population Research, Uganda
  • Katharina Kreppel - Challenges for pastoralist communities to access effective treatment for snake bite envenoming, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Tanzania
  • Renzo Guinto - Tackling Snakebite in the Philippines: Combining Health System and ‘One Health’ Approaches, St. Luke's Medical Center College of Medicine, Philippines
  • Robert Ofwete - Assessment of bacteria from snakes in Kenya and their potential complications to snakebite victims, Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre, Kenya
  • Robert Rono - Community knowledge, practices and attitudes on snake bites and the role of traditional healers, Baringo County Government Health Department, Kenya
  • Stefanie Menzies - Development of a context-appropriate rapid diagnostic test for snakebite in sub-Saharan Africa, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
  • Syafiq Asnawi Zainal Abidin - Identification of antigenic proteins from the venom of Malaysian venomous snakes, Monash University, Malaysia
  • Viviane de Almeida Bastos - Mapping the regions of interaction of natural inhibitors of snake venom toxins, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil

“We are delighted to be awarding 10 snakebite research grants in partnership with the Wellcome Trust. Snakebite is an area we have championing for some time and it is great to see so many early career researchers in this field of work, which kills up to 138,000 people annually and leaves 400,000 with permanent disabilities. We are very grateful to the Wellcome Trust for this support.”

Tamar Ghosh, RSTMH CEO

ITI-funded awardees

  • Amber Barton - Longitudinal changes in tear cytokines, Tanzania. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
  • Nathalie Amvongo - Trachoma and diabetes milletus co-morbidity. Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Studies, Cameroon
  • Samuel Njeru - Evaluation of Trachoma Trichiasis Surgery Performed by Nurses. Kenyatta University, Kenya
  • Sisay Dugassa - Reduction of Musca sorbens population, Vectors of Trachoma. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

RSTMH-funded awardees

The RSTMH-funded awardees are:

 

  • Cynthia Umunnakwe - Use of traditional African games for the delivery of health education for the control of schistosomiasis, Sightsavers, Nigeria

  • Michael Abouyannis - The role of NETs in the pathogenesis of snakebite associated tissue damage, Kenya. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK

  • Shahreen Chowdhury - Disability Inclusion in Pandemic Responses in the Global South. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK

  • Rebecca Edge – Immunophenotyping of leukocyte responses to snake venoms, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK *

  • Sulafa Murgan - Proteomics Analysis of Madurella Mycetomati, Africa City of Technology, Sudan

  • Tao Nguyen – Venomous snakebites in Vietnam: a prospective study of snakebite victims, Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Vietnam *

  • Testimony Olumade - Seroprevalence of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, Nigeria. Redeemer’s University, Nigeria

  • Thomas Pienkowski - Neglected environmental determinants of mental illness in the tropics, University of Oxford, UK

*These grants have been funded by a generous donation from the Hamish Ogston Foundation.

NIHR-funded awardees

View NIHR funded Small Grants awardees on the NIHR Small Grants page.