We have extensive research links around the world, and our staff collaborate with a wide range of partners, from large research-intensive universities to independent research institutions, national and local government agencies, and non-governmental organisations.
The scale and scope of our research relationships in Africa is a unique strength. Our two MRC Units, located in The Gambia and Uganda, each have their own network of partners and provide an important focus for this work. Over the years we have also helped to establish three institutions in Africa: Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU), Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU) and Zambart. In addition to staff at our MRC Units, we have more than 60 researchers based in Africa, most embedded within local institutions, with significant clusters in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
We have many long-standing research relationships in Asia, two of which – Nagasaki University and the National University of Singapore – have developed into major strategic partnerships. We are strongly committed to maintaining and strengthening our research collaborations with European institutions, and over the years have led and/or contributed to a large number of EU and EDCTP research consortia. In addition to staff based in Africa, we have a further 40 researchers based elsewhere in the world, with significant clusters in India and Japan.
Many staff at LSHTM are engaged in research which makes a significant contribution to health in the UK, in areas such as: management of health services and systems; public health, lifestyle and environment; infectious disease monitoring and control; prevention and control of non-communicable diseases; and sexual health. Partnership is key to this work, and over the years we have developed productive collaborative links with partners in government, the NHS and its executive agencies, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), local authorities, Royal Colleges, other universities, health policy think-tanks, charities and funders.
Some of our key research partners include:
- Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI), Zimbabwe
BRTI was established in 1995 and its mission is to promote the health and quality of life of the peoples of Africa through research and training in the field of biomedicine. LSHTM researchers based at BRTI have worked on community interventions for TB diagnosis and on a research programme on health in HIV-infected children and adolescents who survive with often undiagnosed HIV infection. They have also contributed to the creation of The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe (THRU ZIM), which conducts research aimed at improving health and wellbeing across the life-course. This multidisciplinary research group focusses on public health issues of relevance to Zimbabwe and the African region, and collaborates with a range of local and academic institutions.
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- Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU), Tanzania
MITU was established in 2006 by the Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and LSHTM. MITU’s programme builds on a long history of collaborative work between health research institutions in Mwanza, focusing on world class research on HIV and other related infections and the development of research capacity in Tanzania. The collaboration has expanded to include research on reproductive health; human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination; chronic non-communicable diseases; and the health of adolescents and young people.
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- Zambart, Zambia
Zambart was established in 2004 from a 20 year research collaboration between the School of Medicine, University of Zambia, and LSHTM. From the initial studies of the impact of HIV on the clinical presentation and outcome of treatment of TB, the scope of the research undertaken by Zambart has expanded to include epidemiology, clinical trials, social science, operations research, health policy analysis, health economics, development communications, counselling, and community-based research.
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- Largest ever study on the impact of combined HIV/TB intervention on tuberculosis
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- Bilharzia and HIV
- NIHR Global Health Group on AI-assisted point-of-care ultrasound for TB screening (POCUS4TB)
- Nurture4youth
- PopART
- Yaba Guy Che (For the men): Implementation and evaluation of a co-developed multi-disease intervention for men to overcome health systems barriers
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- Nagasaki University, Japan
LSHTM has a long-standing partnership with Nagasaki University. The relationship has grown steadily from its initial focus on infectious disease research collaboration, and has helped to strengthen global health research and education capacity at Nagasaki more broadly, while offering LSHTM new research opportunities in SE Asia through Nagasaki’s bases in The Philippines and Vietnam. More than ten members of LSHTM staff have been seconded to Nagasaki over the years, and in 2018 LSHTM hosted five Nagasaki early career researchers on productive research visits to London with funding from a Rutherford Fund Strategic Partner Grant. A Joint PhD Programme for Global Health was launched in December 2017 and has helped to develop new researcher links and areas of collaboration between the two institutions.
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- National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
LSHTM’s partnership with the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS focusses on three broad research themes: modelling, health systems, and AMR. Over the years a number of staff have held parallel appointments with both institutions, with the aim of developing new research programmes and projects addressing modern day public health challenges. We have also collaborated on joint workshops on pathogen genomics and a short course on vaccinology. In 2026 LSHTM and NUS collaborated on the inaugural Global Convening of Deans of Global Public Health, with the aim of developing a role for Schools of Public Health as not merely institutions of traditional knowledge production, but active architects of global health resilience.
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- Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), India
LSHTM has a long-standing partnership with PHFI. In addition to joint research across a number of areas, we have collaborated on important capacity building initiatives, e.g. through the PHFI-UK consortium, based at LSHTM from 2008-17, which aimed to strengthen the research and teaching skills of PHFI faculty in India. We have also collaborated on joint research centres, e.g. the South Asia Centre for Disability Inclusive Research (SACDIR), established in 2010 at IIPH Hyderabad; and the Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions (CCCC), 2015-20, in partnership with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Emory University, at PHFI Delhi.
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- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Brazil
LSHTM’s partnership with Fiocruz has had a strong focus on the ‘triple epidemic’ of dengue, chikungunya and Zika, including work on modelling, vector management, and social and economic impact. However, our links continue to expand with projects on disability and health systems, as well as collaboration on the ‘Cohort of 100 million Brazilians’ linked data and datacentre hosted by Fiocruz Bahia.
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