Wellcome funds infectious disease centre in South Africa

The Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa is one of 14 centres for which the trust announced funding on 7 December. It will be based at the University of Cape Town under the directorship of Robert Wilkinson Seven of the centres sharing the five-year, £118 million (US$148m) grant round, are receiving renewed funding from the trust, while the other seven are newly established Wellcome Centres. CIDRI-Africa is getting its first tranche of Wellcome funding, although it has existed as a UCT centre since 2008. It is the only centre of the 14 not based in the UK. According to the Wellcome Trust, CIDRI-Africa will combat infectious diseases related to poverty, with a particular focus on TB and HIV. “This will involve providing training and opportunities to African scientists and clinicians in these areas. Specifically, the team wants to determine the role and interactions of non-infectious diseases in infection, and combat the challenges of large-scale antiretroviral therapy in HIV treatment,” a trust press officer said. Wellcome Centres are spaces where researcher can come together to share facilities, collaborate and be inspired by each other, the trust said in its news release. “Wellcome Centres play a special role in the global research ecosystem. By creating places where researchers can flourish we can catalyse world-leading research and translation, and amplify its influence and impact,” said Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar. – See more at: https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/africa/global-funders/2016/12/wellcome-funds-infectious-disease-centre-in-south-africa.html#sthash.KLWDKUgm.dpuf

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