London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Nicola Desmond, Professor of Medical Anthropology and Global Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and Honorary Professor in Anthropology and Global Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, has been awarded a Global Health Research Professorship from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The Global Health Research Professorship is one of NIHR’s flagship career development awards and supports investigators leading research that aims to benefit communities across Low-and Middle-income countries (LMICs).

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a double burden of disease, where high levels of non-communicable and infectious diseases coexist and pose significant challenges to healthcare systems.

Building on 20 years of research living and working in the region, Dr Desmond’s project will focus on improving equitable access to diagnostic tests.

Dr Desmond said: “As an anthropologist, I’m particularly interested in the interactions between society and technology, and how global health technologies can be adapted across different regions and cultures.

“Early access to testing and quicker diagnosis within the local community leads to improved outcomes for patients. Globally, there are clear diagnostic gaps that urgently need addressing.

“Through my professorship, I’ll be focusing on three main disease areas: HIV and Type I and II diabetes in Malawi, and HIV and Ebola in Uganda, and will work closely with partners at Makerere University and Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust who will co-lead the project.

“I’ll be working with communities to ensure their priorities and perspectives on self-care through frontline testing and monitoring are integrated within national and global diagnostic strategies.”

The TIYENI Dx project, which translates to ‘Let’s Make Progress!’ in Malawi and Uganda, will focus on understanding ‘rational use’ through the perspectives and lived experiences of individuals, families, communities and frontline health workers, and will evaluate the impact on management of health and well-being at home and through interactions with the health system.