Ahead of the Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship Alumni Conference 2019 we shine a light on the work of three of the scheme’s alumni.
Turnberg Fellowships aim to build research links and develop ongoing scientific collaborations between the UK and the Middle East. In November, 88 Fellowship alumni will attend a two day scientific meeting in Cyprus to celebrate their achievements.
Preventing climate change related damage
Taking on “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century”, Dr Maya Negev works to identify populations who are most at risk from climate change and helps to come up with ways to prevent related damage.
Leading a research group at University of Haifa in Israel, Maya says:
“My research aims to help some of the communities that are most threatened by climate change by developing protective health policy and creating opportunities for urban resilience.
“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 has been a fundamental step in my academic career. It allowed me to visit one of the top universities in the world in my field and I look forward to sharing some of my findings at the alumni conference in November.”
Addressing drug misuse in Jordan
Working to help those with drug addiction problems, Dr Jenny Scott used the Turnberg Scheme to travel from Bath to Amman, the capital of Jordan, where she worked to plan intervention techniques to reduce dependence on prescribed and over the counter medicines.
“Despite treatment for opiate dependence being on the WHO essential medicines list there is no opiate substitution therapy in Jordan.
“In Amman I embedded myself into the practice community and met with people with addiction problems, so I could best identify the ways people were getting addictive drugs and medicines. Here, I saw the huge scope there is to improve regulation and the practice of pharmacists. Now, relatively simple changes are recommended to limit access to drugs liable to misuse and provide advice and guidance to those who need it.”
Jenny now has a network of academic contacts at the University of Jordan, several of whom she has hosted at the School of Pharmacy in Bath.
“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.”
Cutting edge medical parasitology in Gaza
Professor Adnan Al-Hindi’s research focuses on zoonoses, which are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
His team at the Islamic University of Gaza have been focussing on the disease echinococcosis, which affects over 1 million people worldwide at any one time. Adnan hopes to increase the use and efficacy of rapid diagnostic testing for this disease as well as raising public awareness about how the parasite that causes it can be passed from contact with dogs.
“Despite the challenges of living and working in Gaza I have made good progress with my research into zoonotic diseases. My research progress would not have been possible without the international collaborations I have worked hard to achieve, including three Turnberg Fellowships.”
Prior to his work on echinococcosis, Adnan has led research into life-changing projects such as characterising the most common parasitic infections of Gazan schoolchildren and looking at the presence of microscopic parasites within the water filters of Gaza.
Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships give early-career biomedical researchers the chance to undertake short-term visits to further their research experience and learn new techniques. To find out more about our work supporting international researchers, see our international opportunities page.
Our Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowships are funded by the Daniel Turnberg Memorial Fund with ongoing support from the Royal College of Physicians, London, Imperial College London, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust.
The Academy is a registered charity, to support our work please see our dedicated support us page.