London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The annual awards attract hundreds of entries that exemplify the talent, dedication and innovation of individuals and teams across all aspects of university life.

LSHTM has been shortlisted in three categories:

Research Project of the Year: STEM - awarded to the individual or team at a UK HE institution for innovative research in STEM subjects that has a far-reaching impact.

Malaria kills nearly half a million people annually and for the first time in many years, the World Health Organization reported an increase in cases and no change in the number of malaria deaths in 2017. An LSHTM study that involved more than 30,000 children in Tanzania showed that a new ‘resistance-breaking’ insecticidal bed net will be vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of further reducing global malaria cases and deaths by 90% by 2030.

International Impact Award - recognises an institution that has, through the efforts of its staff, students and graduates, had a significant, demonstrable impact on the world at large.

The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) is a partnership between Public Health England and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, funded by UK Aid from the Department of Health and Social Care. University of Oxford and King’s College London are academic partners. UK-PHRST comprises a core team of specialist experts ready to deploy within 48 hours to assist governments of low and middle-income countries (LMICs) around the world with responding to disease outbreaks.

Between November 2016 and June 2018 the team deployed eight times in response to outbreaks including Lassa fever, Ebola and diphtheria. The team also carries out rigorous research to improve epidemic preparedness and helps LMICs build capacity for improved national response.

International Collaboration of the Year - recognises exceptional projects carried out jointly between a UK institution and one or more international partners.

In 2015-2017, the International Centre for Eye Health at LSHTM and PhD candidate and ophthalmologist Dr Hillary Rono, with the support of the Kenyan Ministries of Health and Education, led a clinical trial of Peek Acuity, the world’s first clinically-validated eye health smartphone app.  This study led to a regional rollout of the Peek school screening programme which has screened nearly 160,000 children in 337 schools for eye health issues since 2016.

LSHTM has also been shortlisted in the International Impact category as part of an entry from the University of London, highlighting how its distance and flexible learning programmes promote global knowledge transfer and how alumni play an important role in improving lives around the world. The entry highlights the work of a Distance Learning MSc Epidemiology graduate in the ZENITH trial in Harare, which aimed to reduce virulence and supress HIV in children.

This year’s winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Thursday 29 November.

LSHTM was awarded the prestigious Times Higher Education 'University of the Year' award in 2016 and the WOMAN Trial was highly commended in the Times Higher Education awards 2017 for 'Research Project of the Year: STEM'.