The Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund was set up by Lord and Lady Turnberg in memory of their late son Daniel, a doctor and researcher with a keen interest in fostering links between the UK, Israel and the Middle East.
The Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund was established by Lord and Lady Turnberg of Cheadle following the loss of their son Daniel in a plane crash in Africa at the age of 37.Daniel had already made a mark as a bright young doctor and as a medical researcher and was destined for a future full of promise. A graduate of Leeds University, he trained first in hospitals in Yorkshire before starting his specialist training in renal medicine in a series of London teaching hospitals. He went on to obtain his PhD for his research into the role of the immune system in kidney disease at Imperial College and the Hammersmith Hospital before taking up a lectureship in renal medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in 2006.
But above all his academic achievements it was the universal view of his kind and gentle nature, his compassion for others and his sense of fun and enthusiasm for everything that life had to offer that earned him the love, respect and admiration of his patients, colleagues and wide circle of friends. In setting up this fund his parents hope to continue a keen interest he had in international medicine and in encouraging greater understanding between Israel, the Middle East and the UK.
The Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund supports both individual travel fellowships and wider connections and networking for researchers across the UK and Middle East.
Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship grants
The Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships encourage early and mid-career scientists to experience an alternative research environment, learn new techniques and develop ideas for future collaborations. Since its launch in 2008, the scheme has supported over 300 researchers from across the Middle East and the UK to visit, learn and exchange ideas.
Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship alumni networks
Researchers supported through this programme embark on their time abroad at different times and in different places, affording few opportunities to meet each other. Fellows originate from or visit the Middle East where too often national politics prevent interaction. We are therefore delighted to have hosted two alumni conferences in politically neutral Cyprus in 2016 and 2019, bringing together hundreds of researchers from across the Middle East and the UK.
Alumni of the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships are also invited to join our exclusive alumni network, where they can access tailored career support from the Academy and meet other researchers from their scheme and beyond.
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The Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund is supporting remarkable researchers.
Professor Mayyada Wazaify from the University of Jordan and Dr Jenny Scott from the University of Bath have become firm friends as well as long-term collaborators.
Thanks to the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships, Mayyada visted Jenny in the UK in 2010 as an early career researcher to observe the role of pharmacists in addiction management, with both researchers taking a course in qualitative methods. Dr Jenny Scott then used the Turnberg scheme to travel from Bath to Amman, where she planned ways to reduce dependence on prescribed opiates. They ended up publishing several papers together as a result of their visits, including an editorial comparing the Middle East and UK in terms of over-the-counter and prescription drug abuse. Mayyada, now promoted to Professor, made a return visit to Bath in 2018 and Jenny returned to Amman in 2019 on the Erasmus+ scheme.
Jenny comments: “Through my two trips to Jordan I have made friends and collaborators and broadened my knowledge of the culture and the practice of healthcare and pharmacy. Be open to the notion that the context you’re going to work in may be completely different. I can’t go in with the idea that I know what pharmacists do in the UK, therefore that’s what they do in Jordan.” Mayyada adds: “One of the goals of the fellowship is to make you see new places...Try to establish new contacts. It’s enough to go and learn something new.”
Dr Mohammed Jawad is a public health doctor and British-Iraqi combining his personal and professional experiences to change the way we think about war and health. An alumni of the Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund, Dr Jawad went on to win theprestigious British Science Association Award Lecture in 2019 - previous winners include Professor Brian Cox, Professor Simon Baron- Cohen and Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
Dr Mohammed Jawad said: "I was delighted to have been granted the 2019 British Science Association’s Charles Darwin Award Lecture and I am extremely thankful to the Academy of Medical Sciences for nominating me for this award and for their continued support for my career."
Dr Maya Negev is an Israeli climate scientist bringing researchers together across political borders to combat climate change in the Middle East. The Middle East is a climate hotspot, with temperatures rising faster than the global average. In this talk, Dr Negev gives an overview of the climate crisis facing the Middle East and how the opportunities provided through the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship have shaped her career.
She comments: "Most of my work focusses on the Middle East which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to factors such as conflict, water shortage and population density. The Academy’s Turnberg scheme allowed me to visit one of the top universities in the world in my field. It was a turning point in my career, leading me to specialise in research on climate change's impacts on human health."
The Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund has been established and administered by the Academy in partnership with Lord and Lady Turnberg,
Our heartfelt thanks go to our exceptional supporters who have allowed the Fund to grow and continue since 2008. We would like to thank the charities, organisations and the many individuals who have supported us through personal pledges, contributions and donations.
You can donate now to the Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund online by credit or debit card or download our donation form to set up donations through cheque, bank transfer or Direct Debit. If you would like to discuss personally how you can support the scheme, please do reach out to our Head of Fundraising Sarah Porter sarah.porter@acmedsci.ac.uk. Find out more about donating to the Academy here.
We would like to thank in particular our notable funders:
The Haskel Family Foundation
Hilary Harris
Imperial College London
The Pears Foundation
The Royal College of Physicians
Wellcome Trust
Wolfson Family Charitable Trust
In addition, we would like to thank the very generous support over the years from:
Leon Charitable Trust
N & J Greenwood Charitable Trust
The D J Cohen Charitable Trust
The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
We are lucky to have many of Daniel's former friends and colleagues interacting and taking part in the Fund that is his legacy.
Below are some comments from those who knew him about the Fund's work.
Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund donation and gift aid form