The Data Science Cluster (DSC), established in January 2022, is an amalgamation of four entities at MRCG at LSHTM: the three departments of Applications Development and e-Health (ADH), Data Management and Architecture (DMA) and Statistics and Bioinformatics (SCB) and the High Performance Computing (HPC) Centre.

DSC has a core mandate of providing support services to research conducted in the Unit and is supporting over 95% of research here. Its second mandate is conducting research and development (R&D) in data science and related areas. Some interesting research collaboration is beginning to take off between members of DSC and other researchers in the Unit. In addition to these mandates of supporting research and R&D in the Unit, DSC is also invested in capacity development and outreach. The cluster is undertaking activities to contribute to reducing the skills gap in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence skills within the Unit and its network in the sub-region. Outreach activities are geared towards contributing to the growth of the data science ecosystem. Ultimately, DSC wants to situate itself as a leading centre of excellence in health data science in West Africa.

The Genomics Platform aims to work with scientists to generate and analyse genomic data for the identification and understanding of pathogens causing various diseases which claim many lives in Africa. As MRCG at LSHTM is one of the leading research institutions in Africa, the platform will serve as a hub for most genome research by providing access and services using state of the art sequencing technologies, linking bioinformatics and biostatistics and our HPC support services. This will be achieved by ensuring relevant biological questions to address scientific questions underpinning health issues in sub-Sharan Africa are conceived and addressed through genomics and large-scale biological science.

The platform will focus on providing innovation in aggregation, analysis and interpretation of large genomic data and also train the next generation of scientists and clinicians in genome sciences. The platform will also build confidence by initiating global collaborative research initiatives with our regional and international partners. 

The Unit maintains three health and demographic surveillance systems, namely Farafenni, West Kiang, and Basse, to serve as platforms for a range of field studies aimed at improving understanding of public health in West Africa in particular, and the developing world in general. These platforms provide the best opportunity to generate much needed quantitative and qualitative evidence from scientific investigations to formulate or influence policy change with respect to health care delivery systems vis-à-vis an evolving pattern of disease burden in both children and adults.

The sites represent different geographical and environmental conditions as well as disease ecologies, and therefore collectively constitute a valuable scientific resource for the Unit to underpin its investigations relating to the SDGs across the three research themes, especially in relation to newborn and maternal health.

The Surveillance and Epidemic Preparedness Platform was established to support the Unit’s already prominent role in investigating outbreaks, e.g. meningitis outbreaks in Ghana and Nigeria, and to serve as the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Invasive Bacterial Diseases.

It closely interacts with MRCG at LSHTM’s Genomics, Biobank and Health and Demographic Systems platforms. The platform will be implemented in major health facilities at strategic positions where MRCG at LSHTM already has a presence: at the cross‐roads with Guinea (Basse), on the trans‐Gambian road linking northern and southern Senegal (Farafenni) and one in the Banjul urban area (Clinical Service Department). The platform is important for the investigation of epidemics of undetected febrile related diseases and will strengthen local response for epidemic preparedness working closely with the Gambian Ministry of Health as well as other institutions such as the Institute Pasteur de Dakar in neighbouring Senegal.

The Tuberculosis Case Contact Platform (TBCC) cohort is one of the longest running case-contact cohorts worldwide and provides a unique opportunity for multi- disciplinary research. It is run in close collaboration with the national TB program to promote health systems strengthening and public engagement. Underpinning all its studies is fundamental science to determine mechanisms, risk factors, and biomarkers/correlates of risk for TB infection and disease. Current research projects include evaluating novel diagnostic tests for TB, elucidating the risk factors for long-term lung pathology in TB; identifying protective immune requirements in the blood and lung; defining correlates of risk for progression to active TB and understanding immunity to TB in the context of HIV and other co-infections (including Influenza). The TBCC platform also allows studies of household transmission dynamics, biomarker research for diagnosis and treatment responses, and facilitates evaluation of novel diagnostic tests and host-pathogen interactions, all of which are required to inform TB vaccine designs of the future.

Childhood TB Research 

The MRCG at LSHTM established a comprehensive programme of research and training on childhood TB in close collaboration with the Gambia National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Programme (NLTBCP) in 2012. Building upon the experiences and achievements in The Gambia, the programme extended its work to the rest of West Africa. The partnerships are coordinated from the MRCG at LSHTM and include the Childhood TB Work Package of the West Africa Networks of Excellence for TB, AIDS and Malaria (EDCTP-WANETAM) and a multi-country and inter-disciplinary network for research on post-TB lung health in children and adolescents in West Africa. 

The West Africa Research Platform has been active in building strong collaborative links with other West African institutions and has actively organised capacity building activities consisting of short courses, postgraduate training and institutional strengthening.

The platform has created an alliance, the West Africa Global Health Alliance (WAGHA), with two Senegalese institutions, namely the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) and the Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation (‘IRESSEF’).