This November, the Daniel Turnberg Alumni Conference brought together almost 90 medical researchers from across the UK and Middle East in friendship and collaboration.
The conference welcomed alumni of the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship Scheme from the UK, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories for two days of scientific talks, career development, and networking.
“..being in the meeting felt as if I have entered a dream. Especially this year, when violence has greatly increased all over the world. The meeting reminded to all us that in the bottom line - we are all humans - and there is so much more to do together than just fighting each other”. Dr Sharon Anavi-Goffer, University of Aberdeen
Attendees described the conference as a “rare opportunity to meet colleagues from neighbouring countries”, with networking sessions from Dr Steve Cross providing a chance to meet new people and find ways to collaborate to improve medical research. This was the second Daniel Turnberg Alumni Conference, and was held in Cyprus between 19 and 21 November 2019. All researchers at the conference had previously been supported through the scheme to visit institutions in the UK and Middle East for up to three months. The Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship Scheme has now supported over 270 of these exchange visits over the last ten years.
“Kudos, and keep going. There are very few meetings that aim to promote peace and understanding through working together and sharing scientific ideas that everyone can come around with little controversy.” Participant feedback form
Research topics presented ranged from the role of empathy and music in social conflict to investigating the antimicrobial potential of scorpion venom. Watch Dr Maya Negev explain her work bringing researchers togetherto combat climate change in the Middle East below.
Photos from the conference can be viewed on our Flickr page.
The conference was chaired by Lord Turnberg of Cheadle FMedSci and generously supported by the Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund. The Academy would like to thank all the generous donors who have contributed to this fund since its inception in 2008.
The current round for applications for Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships closes on 15 January 2020.