devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
Newton001 SLEEP DEPRIVATION IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE: BRAZIL AND UNITED KINGDOM RESEARCH NETWORK The project aims to address the important topic of sleep disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD) which is a growing health issue in Brazil, since life expectancy is significantly increasing across the decades (1970: 58.9 years; 1980: 62.8 years; 1990: 66.6 years; 2011: 74.3 years - World Health Rankings) and PD affects 1-3% of people over 65 years. Prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing in developing countries, in Brazil this is estimated to be 5.3%. In addition, economic development is associated with increased urbanization and shift work, which negatively impacts on sleep quality, generating several health problems (e.g. obesity, higher incidence of cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic disturbances) and increasing demand on the public health system. This project thus aims to address a strategic health problem in Brazil and will create a scientific Brazil-UK network to study the basic mechanisms underlying PD with novel, state-of-the-art analytical tools and approaches.   The overall aim of the project is to investigate the behavioural, neurochemical and metabolic changes following sleep restriction in an animal model of PD. We hypothesise that sleep deprivation will produce cognitive deficits, neurochemical and metabolic disruption. The behavioural and neurochemical experiments will be undertaken in the Neurophysiology Laboratory (Profs Lima and Louzada, Federal University of Paraná), a centre of excellence for the study of Parkinson's disease in Brazil. Samples will be analysed by targeted liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) metabolomics (Prof Skene (University of Surrey). Additional added value will be provided by employing a second metabolomics platform, untargeted 1H NMR metabolomics to characterise brain, plasma and urine metabolite changes in the rat model (Dr Swann, University of Reading). The application of two complementary analytical approaches ensures wide metabolome coverage and using multiple sample types allows the metabolic perturbations induced by sleep deprivation in PD to be studied at different levels.   The planned combination of behavioural, neurochemical and metabolomic approaches will enable a multi-faceted observation of circulating and central neuronal parameters that could identify possible molecular biomarkers of early neurodegeneration in PD with potential diagnostic value. There will also be a mutual exchange of researchers and postgraduate students between the UK and Brazil to share new ideas, techniques and approaches allowing mutual (global) growth. The results of the proposed experiments will advance understanding of the mechanisms of PD and its inter-relationship with sleep/wake processing. Creation of a Brazil-United Kingdom research network will also provide a foundation for future studies and collaboration. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Newton001-Developing tools to study inequalities in women's access to breast and cervical cancer control activities in Brazil using health-related DB Brazil, like many other low and middle-income countries (LMICs), is undergoing a cancer transition whereby cancers with an infection-related aetiology are being surpassed by those with a non-communicable origin. This transition is particularly evident among women, with breast cancer (BC) having now surpassed cervical cancer (CC) as the most common female cancer in Brazil (estimated number of incident cases in 2012: ~67,000 BC vs. ~18,000 CC).   The Sistema Único de Saude (SUS) was established by the Brazilian government in 1988 to provide universal free access to health care. In 1999-2002 guidelines were issued for women aged 25-59 years to undergo a gynaecological examination every 3 years, and in 2004 for mammographic screening every two years of those aged 50-64, with information systems established to manage these screening activities. SISCOLO, implemented in 1999, records information on all Pap smear requests whereas SISMAMA, established in 2009, records data on all mammograms.   Despite the success of these programs, and the lower BC incidence in Brazil than in the UK (59.5/100,000 vs. 95/100,000 in 2012), BC mortality is similar (14.3/100,000 vs. 17.1/100,000, respectively) and both CC incidence and mortality remain much higher in Brazil (16.3/100,000 and 7.3/100,000, respectively) than in the UK (7.1/100,000 and 1.8/100,000, respectively).   Such disproportionately higher mortality rates are likely to be related to low coverage of the population targeted by screening and late presentation. It is the aim of this Research Partnership to investigate whether this is the case, in the first instance, by creating the tools necessary to study access to early diagnosis and treatment for the two most common female cancers - BC and CC. In particular we will:  1. Gain access to, and link, at a national level, SISMAMA and SISCOLO national data to Censuses, hospital and mortality records, socioeconomic surveys, and Bolsa Familia.  2. Develop a multi-disciplinary conceptual framework to identify demand (e.g. socio-economic status, belief system) and supply determinants (e.g. services availability) of inequalities in health care using such comprehensive data linkage.  3. Strengthen analytic capacity to deal with the methodological challenges raised by interrogating large routinely-collected datasets. These include addressing potential sources of bias affecting the linked data and the adoption of appropriate statistical methodology for examining pathways to inequalities in health care. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Leishmania virulence factors and host peptidases associated with visceral leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a severe disease of humans and one of the world's most neglected diseases, primarily affecting the poor in developing countries.  350 million people are at risk of contracting the disease and it has severe costs in both health and economic terms and drains resources that could be used to promote growth of developing nations. There is no effective vaccine against the disease and chemotherapy is the prime means for reducing the leishmaniasis burden. Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis with 6,000 cases recorded in Brazil each year.  Unfortunately the drugs available to treat VL have many limitations and new drugs are desperately needed. Our aim in this collaborative project is to characterise key biological processes of Leishmania chagasi, the parasite that causes VL in Brazil, and so identify factors that influence the outcome of disease. We have shown that peptidases, enzymes that digest proteins, and natural inhibitors that block peptidase function, are important in the infectivity and pathogenicity of the parasite. Our work will concentrate on 3 key areas of the biology of the parasite and its interaction with the host. Firstly, we will test if peptidases in the mammalian host are important for the pathogenesis of the disease.  To do this we will use an animal model of infection using the L. chagasi parasite and mice.  A key approach will be to genetically manipulate important Leishmania genes to find out what role the encoded proteins play in the parasite's infectivity and virulence and to determine whether they might be exploited as novel therapeutics.  Secondly, we shall investigate the genome variation that occurs in different strains of Leishmania.  We will sequence the genomes of L. chagasi parasites isolated from patients in the State of Piaui in Brazil with different clinical VL outcome and identify parasite genes that might influence the presentation of disease.  We will integrate parasitological and immunological studies in animal models and humans and overall, we expect the outcome from this study to be a greatly improved understanding on the roles of these biological processes in Leishmania, and the molecular mechanisms of the processes themselves - which will be relevant to many areas of biology. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
The role of plasma membrane calcium ATPase 4 (PMCA4) in modulating Plasmodium infection and malaria severity Malaria is a major public health problem in many parts of the world including Indonesia, causing an estimated 150-300 million clinical cases and killing more than 430 thousand people annually (WHO Report, 2015).  Strategies to control malaria that have demonstrated some success include anti-malaria treatment for infected individuals, application of insecticide to reduce mosquito populations, and reduction of human contact with infected mosquitoes via bednets. However, the rapid spread of parasite resistance to the currently available anti-malarial drugs has hampered large-scale efforts at malaria control within the last few years. Development of new anti-malarial drugs that target novel biochemical pathways is needed to avoid cross resistance.  Recent genetic studies in human populations have identified a calcium pump called PMCA4 that is present in human red blood cells and in cells lining the blood vessels (endothelium) to have a very strong association with resistance against malaria infection and the occurrence of brain malaria. These findings imply that PMCA4 can be used as a possible target for anti-malaria treatment and for the reduction of cerebral malaria, the most deadly complication of this disease.   Pilot observations conducted through a collaboration between scientists at The University of Manchester and Eijkman Institute Indonesia have demonstrated that treatment with drugs that inhibit PMCA4 activity might reduce malaria infection in a mouse model as well as in a cell culture system. Based on this promising preliminary result, in this project we will further investigate whether: 1) Inhibition of PMCA4 genetically in mice will inhibit the growth of malaria parasite (Plasmodium) and reduce the occurrence of experimental brain malaria 2) Inhibition of PMCA4 using a potent and specific pharmacological inhibitor will inhibit the growth of malaria parasite (Plasmodium) in mice and reduce the occurrence of experimental brain malaria 3) In the Indonesian population genetic variations in the PMCA4 gene are associated with resistance against malaria and severity of the disease.  It is expected that this study will provide new information on how malaria infection is regulated at the molecular level. If our hypothesis is correct this project may identify a novel pharmacological target for malaria treatment. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
'See and Sequence' - Genomic surveillance of antimicrobial resistant and high-risk pathogenic clones within the Philippines The spectre of increasing antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacterial species looms larger each day. Currnetly existing surveillance networks need new tools to enable richer and more detailed understanding of where and when AMR is arising across a region. This will aid public health and lead to better patient care and prevention of spread. However, there are significant challenges facing public health microbiologists when tackling pathogenic microbial species which can be broadly summarised as:  1) Identification of high-risk lineages - ie dangerous sub-types in a population likely to cause disease. 2) Risk assessment following identification (eg., what antibiotics is the lineage resistant to, how likely to cause disease, how easy to transmit to others). 3) Infection control. - Using this information to inform strategies in treatment and the prevention of spread.  Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of bacterial species provides us with the means to look for genomic signatures of resistance and virulence (ie genes that if present, give us some indication as to what drugs could be used to treat the individual) but also provides us with ways of identifying transmission - for example by building 'family trees' indicating which genomes are more similar to others.  Furthermore, due to the digital nature of the data, genome sequences and associated metadata can be stored and accessed via the internet opening up the possible for regioinal, national and international comparison.     We intend to utilise WGS within the National antimicrobial surveillance network in the Philippines to introduce this increase in resolution to a national network. Firstly, we will install local sequencing capacity in the Reference Laboratory and, in conjunction with The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the world leader in the use of WGS for public health, will provide training and capacity building for the use of WGS throughout the project. Secondly, we will sequence a representative set of historical strains circulating over the preceding years in the Philippines to provide a 'reference database' with which to start active surveillance. Finally, we will, utilising current microbiology to 'flag' isolates with unusual antibiotic resistance, start a process of prospective sequencing and comparison between contempory data and the reference database.  Crucially, this will also allow the comparsion of data from the Philippines with data from other parts of the world to aid, not only identification of potential transmissions to/from the Region but to act as part of a global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.  This project places the Philippines at the forefront of molecular epidemiology. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Development of polygenic risk scores for South East Asian populations to identify women at higher-risk of breast cancer Breast cancer burden is large and growing in Asia. In Malaysia, the breast cancer incidence has increased rapidly for the past two decades, albeit that it is still less than half of that in Europeans. The rapid increased incidence has been associated with changing lifestyle, such as decreased parity, no/short period of breastfeeding, and increasing Westernisation and urbanization. Breast cancer is now the most common cancer across all ethnicities in Malaysia, accounting for 31% of cancers in women, and it is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Early detection by screening can reduce breast cancer mortality. However, due to lack of funding within the national health services and lack of justification for population-based screening, only opportunistic screening is practiced. This is suboptimal and inequitable. A viable alternative approach is to improve screening strategies by identifying high-risk women who should be targeted for screening. In this proposal, we plan to bring technological advances in the understanding of breast cancer genetics to develop tools that can be used identify women who are at higher risk of developing breast cancer so that early detection and disease prevention interventions become possible. The findings of this research will inform the development of appropriate management to ensure that healthcare resources can be used efficiently for targeted screening and prevention. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Newton001 Breakfast, diabetes and poverty in Brazil This proposal will be implemented through a partnership between the Federal University of Sergipe and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK.    Professors Gurgel and Cuevas have maintained more than 15 years collaborations on research on infectious diseases, including diarrhoea, respiratory infections and tuberculosis.   This award will provide an opportunity for their institutes to develop new research interests in chronic non-communicable diseases, which are increasingly recognised as emerging diseases in Brazil.    The partnership proposed, will expand the expertise of the applicants and provide an opportunity to initiate research in chronic diseases within a different context to the UK.   We will combine our research expertise with nutritional expertise at the University of Sergipe and on health inequalities within the Department of Public Health, University of Liverpool (UoL), who have accepted to support the implementation of this proposal. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Genetic, lipid and other risk factors in early-onset acute myocardial infarction in Malaysia. Coronary heart disease (CHD), with myocardial infarction (MI) or "heart attack" as the main manifestation, is the leading cause of death worldwide, and is also the leading cause of death in Malaysia. It is estimated that in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries, nearly a quarter of CHD events occur in people younger than 50 years, resulting in a significant loss of productive working years due to death and disability. This is why we have deigned a case-control study of acute MI in Malaysia to recruit 5000 participants (2500 MI patients or "cases" aged <50 years and 2500 healthy participants or "controls"). In this study, we will initially investigate the hereditary and lipid-related risk factors of heart attack in Malaysia's population - which has distinctive features of multi-ethnicity and consanguinity (or intermarriage).   The specific objectives of our proposed study are to:  (1) investigate genetic risk factors of premature heart attack in Malaysia;  (2) evaluate cardiovascular risk factors of specific relevance to the Malaysian population, such as indigenous forms of tobacco consumption and local dietary patterns, with potential implications of results for public health policy; and  (3) create collaborations between Malaysian and UK scientists, who will jointly manage and further harvest the dataset and bioresource of this nationally-important research platform. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Newton001 - A collaboration Brazil UK on e health  preparing  a virtual cohort of 80 million Brazilians An MoU was signed between LSHTM, Universidade Federal da Bahia-ISC and FIOCRUZ  in 2014; a delegation from UFBA and FIOCRUZ visited the LSHTM in 2014. Mauricio Barreto (the Brazilian PI) has a LSHTM PhD, and 3 other LSHTM PhDs hold academic positions at ISC; 3 students from ISC are split or full PhD current students at LSHTM.  Mauricio was LSHTM   "Heath Clarke Lecturer"  in 2013  and now hold  an Honorary Professorship there. Laura Rodrigues, the UK co-PI holds a Science Without Borders Visiting Professorship ("PVE") at ISC. Professors Laura and Mauricio had two major joint research projects:  "BCG REVAC, a large trial of efficacy of BCG revaccination, co funded by DfID and the Ministry of Health/Tuberculosis Control Programme in Brazil and "SCAALA", a  Wellcome Trust funded "Centre of Excellence in Latin America" dedicated to Social Change, Allergy and Asthma in Latin America and now co-funded by the Brazilian National Research Council-CNPq and FAPESB.. This collaboration resulted so far in 89 papers published in peer review journals; Several PhDs (8) and Masters (7) theses were developed as  part of these projects.  Liam Smeeth is a deputy director of the London Farr Institute, has visited ISC to present on the Farr Institute and use of routine electronic data and is a scientific advisor for the development of the 80 million Brazilians Virtual cohort. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.
Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer Oral and oropharyngeal cancer (commonly referred to as head and neck cancer; HNSCC), grouped together, is the sixth most common cancer in the world, with more than 400,000 new cases each year. HNSCC is the second most common malignancy in Malaysia encompassing 13.2% of the total cancer incidence. In the UK, incidence of HNSCC has risen dramatically since the late 1970s (+92%) to over 7500 cases/year. Management of HNSCC patients is often by a costly multidisciplinary approach involving surgery and/or radiotherapy followed by reconstruction and rehabilitation. Treatment results in considerable physical and psychological morbidity and may not prolong life.  The 5-year survival rates for HNSCC have been relatively static for decades at around 50-60%. It is clear than new treatments are required.  Immunotherapy represents the most promising new cancer therapy for several decades. These treatments harness the power of the patient's immune system to fight the cancer, in the same way that the immune system might fight a virus. Cancers are recognised by the immune system as "foreign' because they express proteins (antigens) not usually found in normal tissues. Some patients have a strong immune response against their cancer, causing immune cells (killer lymphocytes) to attack and destroy cancer cells. Immunotherapeutic drugs have been designed to boost this response, enhancing lymphocyte killing, and these have produced exciting clinical results in lots of cancer types. However, in most HNSCC patients, cancers do not provoke a strong immune response. By turning cancer antigens into powerful vaccines we can make the immune system recognise and react to the cancer; by combining the vaccines with other immunotherapeutic drugs, our hope is that we can generate an overwhelming immune attack against the cancer.   The Cancer Research Malaysia (CRM) team have identified two novel cancer antigens (MAGED4B, FJX1) present in HNSCC in Malaysian patients.   Notably, these cancer antigens are also expressed by UK HNSCC patients. The purpose of this study is to make vaccines against these antigens, using a novel vaccine design developed by the University of Southampton (UoS) that has previously been tested clinically. The new vaccines will be tested in a humanised mouse cancer model developed by the CRM team. The vaccines will be combined with several types of immunotherapeutic drugs designed to boost lymphocyte killing power, to identify the most effective combination.   The UoS team has extensive experience in examining patients' immune responses to cancer, and will examine the visibility of MAGED4B/FJX1 antigens to the immune system of HNSCC patients. Finally, the UoS team will develop new mouse models of HNSCC which will form the basis for immunotherapy testing in future studies.  If successful, the results from this pre-clinical study will be used to develop early phase clinical testing of vaccine combinations in both countries. The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships with developing countries across the world to promote the economic development and social welfare of the partner countries.