Chronic disease research awarded funding
This MRC funding will allow researchers from the partnership to develop a sustainable platform to share resources and skills which will help develop long-term strategies for disease control and management in sub-Saharan Africa.
As treatment and management of infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis improves, medical researchers expect that non-infectious chronic diseases will become an increasingly important problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are expected to become the leading causes of morbidity and death in this region.
The APCDR will conduct research that will provide more reliable and precise information on disease burden, underlying aetiology and strategies for intervention.
“We don’t fully understand the magnitude and distribution of risk factors for these diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the next five years, our partnership expects to collect detailed health and disease information and blood samples from over 24,000 individuals across 10 countries. This collection will generate a resource that will provide a unique framework for researchers in these countries.”
Dr Elizabeth Young Investigator from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
In existing studies into these diseases throughout Africa, scientists have used a variety of methods and assessed only a small subset of risk factors. This small scale restricts any comparative studies across the region.
This partnership will develop the much needed, large-scale high-quality comparable studies across a wide range of diseases and possible risk factors, spanning countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Importantly, this will also provide a platform for interventional research and ensure that African populations benefit from the on-going advances in genomics.
“The African Genome Variation project, a key endeavour of the APCDR, will be an important resource for Africa researchers. This will allow researchers to understand patterns of genetic diversity within sub-Saharan populations, as well as providing a global resource for genomic studies of diseases in Africa. If we want to have lasting benefits, the APCDR must provide mechanisms and infrastructure to share research resources, training and support with the next generation of researchers and scientific leaders in Africa.”
Dr Manjinder Sandhu Lead investigator from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge
“Understanding the cause and determinants of these diseases in sub-Saharan Africa is a fundamental step in developing strategies for diseases management and control. In the context of epidemiological transition and the complex relation between risk factors for chronic infection and non-communicable disease, an integrated approach to our research is essential.”
Professor Pontiano Kaleebu Lead investigator from the MRC/UVRI Uganda Research Unit on AIDS
“For countries in sub-Saharan Africa to benefit from future progress in non-communicable disease research and genomics, there is a need to strengthen research capacity, training and collaboration across the region to ensure researchers can play a full part. This initiative will play an important role in piecing together the puzzle of non-communicable disease in Africa.”
Professor Jean Claude Mbanya Lead investigator from the University of Yaounde, Cameroon
“The MRC is pleased to support such an innovative strategic partnership between UK scientists and centres of research excellence in sub-Saharan Africa. This award will provide a platform to enhance training and capacity building at the African centres as well as maximising outputs from world-leading collaborative research. Ultimately this will help researchers to develop effective strategies to tackle the grand challenge of non-communicable diseases in Africa.”
Dr Wendy Ewart MRC Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy
More information
Selected websites
African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research
The African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research is an international partnership that aims to facilitate multi-centre research to assess the burden and causes of non-communicable in sub-Saharan Africa to improve the evidence base underpinning potential responses to these diseases, provide a platform for interventional research and ensure that African populations benefit from the on-going advances in genomics.
Medical Research Council
Over the past century, the Medical Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers’ money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed.
Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms.
MRC Centenary Timeline
The MRC Centenary Timeline chronicles 100 years of life-changing discoveries and shows how our research has had a lasting influence on healthcare and wellbeing in the UK and globally, right up to the present day.
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world’s leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests.
