Our research is conducted within three themes - a structure that provides important opportunities for inter‐theme synergy - as well as an additional cross-cutting theme.
Disease Control and Elimination
The disease control and elimination theme’s scientific strategy focuses on investigating the interactions between hosts, pathogens and vectors, and evaluating interventions aimed at interrupting transmission and/or reducing the disease burden. Its research portfolio includes diseases of public health importance in West Africa at different stages of control or elimination, e.g. malaria, bacterial diseases, hepatitis B.
Nutrition and Planetary Health
The nutrition focus aims at understanding the pathophysiology of diet-disease interactions in order to accelerate the development of more effective next-generation community and clinical interventions. The planetary health focus is on understanding and responding to the challenges of climate change on human health.
Vaccines and Immunity
The vaccines and immunity theme thrives to understand the ontogeny of immunity to inform the design of vaccines and maximise their impact. Through laboratory science and clinical trials, the theme’s aim is to contribute to the evidence based development and deployment of vaccines.
Cross-cutting theme: Maternal and Newborn Health
A cross‐cutting theme, this research portfolio addresses pressing research questions related with maternal, neonatal and child health.
Cross-cutting theme: West Africa Network
The West African Network for Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM) was established in 2009 as one of the Networks of Excellence supported by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). It aims to combat poverty-related diseases in line with the International Conference on Harmonisation Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP). It currently has a membership of 25 institutions from 12 West African countries and five institutions from four European countries.