News and events - 2024

March 2024

New paper: podoconiosis

Dr Mikias Negash, a PhD student during Phase 1 of the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Neglected Tropical Diseases at BSMS and now a post-doctoral research fellow in Phase 2 of the Unit, has published his findings on the immunological basis of podoconiosis in Nature Communications. Investigating the link between exposure to volcanic soil and the development of leg swelling (lymphoedema) in affected communities in Ethiopia, Mikias found evidence of ongoing inflammation and immune activation in podoconiosis patients that he is taking forward in his post-doctoral work. This research, supervised by Prof Mel Newport (Global Health and Infection) and Dr Rawleigh Howe at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute in Addis Ababa, is the first detailed study of immune responses in podoconiosis, building on the genetic association the group discovered between podoconiosis and the HLA system. BSMS co-authors include Dr Diana Alcantara and Prof Gail Davey, and Dr Ben Towler (now School of Life Sciences at Sussex).

Read the paper here >

PhD success for Sudanese NIHR Global Health Research Unit students

Congratulations to Rayan Ali (pictured left) and Mohamed Elsheikh (right) who both successfully defended their PhD theses and will graduate this year. They join Rowa Hassan (middle) who was awarded her PhD in 2022. All worked on aspects on mycetoma in Sudan (genetics, anthropology and epidemiology respectively) and showed great fortitude completing their research projects in the face of significant challenges due to the political instability in Sudan. Rayan and Rowa continue to contribute to the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Neglected Tropical Diseases at BSMS as post-doctoral researchers while Mohamed secured a lecturer post at St Georges University, Grenada.

Mycobacterial drug discovery partnerships yield success

New drugs are needed to treat tuberculosis and the rising threat from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Novel drug combinations can be newly discovered or repurposed from other disease areas. Dr Aaron Goff and Prof Simon Waddell in the Department of Global Health and Infection have recently celebrated two minor successes using both approaches. Firstly, reported in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, azetidines derivatives (BGAz) were identified from whole cell screening and demonstrated to kill drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis by inhibiting cell envelope biogenesis. Read it here. In a second study, using a computational drug repurposing approach in partnership with Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc, niclosamide and tribromsalan were revealed to inhibit both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium abscessus. The study was published in the journal Tuberculosis and was part-funded by the University of Sussex Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). Read it here >

February 2024

Vending machines offering convenient STI testing could revolutionise sexual health

In a ground-breaking, year-long pilot programme, vending machines dispensing self-test kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have proven to be an effective and widely accepted means of reaching individuals who rarely or never get tested. The results of the pilot, published online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, suggest that these machines should be integrated into the digital landscape of sexual health services. Conducted across 11 publicly available vending machines in Brighton and Hove (7 sites) and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (4 sites) from April 2022 to March 2023, the initiative dispensed rapid HIV tests and self-sampling kits for various STIs. A total of 2536 kits were distributed, with 208 users providing feedback through questionnaires. The organisations involved in the study were Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), the University of Bristol, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West. 

Read the full story here >

Through genetics to global awareness: advocacy for a neglected skin disease

Wednesday 28 February, 12-1pm, Watts 313, Moulsecoomb campus

Prof Gail Davey OBE, Head of Global Health and Infection at BSMS, will describe the translation journey surrounding her team’s research into podoconiosis, a debilitating form of leg swelling affecting subsistence farmers in the highlands of East Africa. As a heavily neglected condition, a range of research disciplines and approaches have been applied to understand its aetiology, impact, prevention and treatment. To reserve your free place, please email PrecisionMedicine@brighton.ac.uk >

New research: podoconiosis

Md Ilias Kamal Risat from the Global Health and Infection department has published research in the journal of Frontiers in Tropical Diseases. Risat is the lead author of the article along with Professors Gail Davey and Shahaduz Zaman from BSMS and Dr Peter Mugume from University of Rwanda. The research is based on the exploration of the caring network among podoconiosis patients, their family members, healthcare professionals and traditional healers in the city of Huye, Rwanda. The research is part of the Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatising Skin Conditions (5S) foundation based at BSMS. The research title is: 'Understanding the caring network of Podoconiosis patients in Rwanda: A qualitative study' and is available to read here >

PhD for Risat

Md Ilias Kamal Risat from the Global Health and Infection department at BSMS, has successfully passed his PhD Viva. Risat’s PhD, 'Understanding the notions of 'Good Death' in Bangladesh: A critical exploration', was supervised by Prof Shahaduz Zaman, also Global Health and Infection, and Professor Karen Lowton, Professor of Sociology, University of Sussex.

New paper: labour rights abuse in manufacture of medical products

Dr Mei Trueba, Dr Chantelle Rizan and Prof Mood Bhutta from BSMS are co-authors on a new paper which quantifies the overall and product-specific risks of labour rights abuse in the manufacture of healthcare products. The authors show that the country of origin of a product can serve as a suitable proxy for the risk of labour abuse and indicate the need for more transparency in healthcare supply chains. The paper is published by Cureus, part of the Springer Nature Group.

Read it here >

January 2024

Vending machines, knowledge exchange and extreme weather events: what has HIV got to do with it?

BSMS' HIV research team is at the forefront of innovative research to address HIV in vulnerable populations. In this online session, they will discuss some of their groundbreaking work in addressing the challenges of HIV. Speakers include Prof Jaime Vera, Dr Syra Dhillon, Dr Kate Alford and Prof Collins Iwuji. This session is the latest in the Global Health and Infection department's online Current Stories in Global Health series, which run quarterly throughout the year and aim to simplify global health research, policy and practice. The first session of 2024 takes place on Wednesday 31 January, 5-6:30pm via Zoom. Book via the button below.

Book here >

PhD success for Angela

Angela McBride successfully passed her PhD in December. Her Wellcome funded fellowship took her to Vietnam to work on dengue shock. This is a tremendous achievement for her to bring it to such a successful conclusion through the pandemic. It’s also a great collaborative triumph for Global Health and Infection at BSMS with the Bloomsbury Centre for Global Health, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Vietnam and the Wellcome Trust. Angela says: "My PhD focused on the inflammatory and endothelial pathophysiology associated with dengue shock. The work was funded by a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD fellowship and was supervised by Prof Martin Llewelyn at BSMS in collaboration with Associate Prof Louise Thwaites and Associate Prof Sophie Yacoub at Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Results from the PhD have directly fed into my current programme of work, including the development of a core outcome set for dengue clinical trials, and the set-up of funded clinical trials investigating antiviral and immunomodulatory therapies for patients with dengue. I was awarded first prize for clinical research at the ASTMH conference in Chicago last month, when I presented my unexpected findings that a substantial proportion of dengue shock survivors experience prolonged subclinical inflammation for at least six months post-discharge from hospital. I hope that in time, we will be able to generate some much-needed progress in the dengue therapeutic landscape, and a greater understanding of how acute infectious diseases impact health outcomes long after discharge from hospital."

Prof Jaime Vera’s inaugural lecture

Prof Jaime Vera gave his inaugural lecture on 22 November last year titled ‘From despair to hope: The past, present and future of HIV medicine’. HIV remains a major global health challenge, but significant progress has been made in its management. Thanks to groundbreaking research, HIV has been transformed from a death sentence to a chronic condition that can be effectively controlled with antiretroviral therapy. Prof Vera shared insights from his research on HIV prevention, ageing, brain health and therapeutics to illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in HIV research and discusses actions that might be needed to eliminate HIV while improving the quality of life of those living with the condition. Watch his inaugural in full below.

Papreen receives funding for new project

Dr Papreen Nahar, Senior Research Fellow (Medical Anthropology and Global Health), has been awarded a research sponsorship from the World Health Organization for a project titled ‘Lived Experiences of Infertile Men and Fertility Care Provision within the Biomedical Sector in Urban Bangladesh’. This study aims to provide insights into the experience of male infertility and their access to health services in Bangladesh. The project will partner with the ICDDR, B, an international health research organisation located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

SSRP Symposium showcases global and local sustainability initiatives

Amid emerging climate change impacts, biodiversity loss and loss of wellbeing, universities worldwide are placing an increasing focus on sustainability research for identifying a positive way forward. Last month, the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP) held its 6th Symposium, an annual research-sharing event between sustainability researchers, SSRP project leads, colleagues, partners and enthusiasts eager to contribute and delve deeper into the subject. The symposium showcased cross-school research initiatives and collaborations, with Dr Chi Eziefula presenting ‘Luna Connection’, a co-created citizen science project which promotes sustainable menstrual health among adolescents in Uganda, Sudan, Kenya and the UK, and Jo Middleton discussing integrated public health and conservation efforts in Papua New Guinea, which has seen the establishment of a mobile health clinic and conservation of 15,000 ha of biodiversity-sensitive forest land.

Find out more here >

Global Health team in Lusaka

Members of the Global Health and Infection team from BSMS have been in Lusaka, Zambia, this month to participate in the CREATE PhD meeting. New CREATE fellow Kate Mattick presented her poster for her project supervised by Dr Hazel Horobin, University of Brighton. BSMS staff in attendance included Prof Gail Davey, Prof Jaime Vera and Dr Fiona Cresswell.

Stigma Working Group Meeting

Monday 5 February, 12-1pm, Medical Research Building and online. Join Fungai Murau, a highly experienced public health expert with emphasis in the HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights fields, for the first Stigma Working Group Meeting of 2024. The meeting will take place in person in the Medical Research Building ground floor meeting room or online via Zoom here >