Tuberculosis
The Dorothy Temple Cross Skills, Training and Development Awards are designed to support Tuberculosis (TB) researchers we have previously funded.
We have made 13 of these awards in 2023, which are designed to provide training and enhance development of skills for awardees in this field.
The Medical Research Foundation’s Dorothy Temple Cross (DTC) Skills, Training and Development Awards (STDAs) have been made available to previously funded DTC award holders.
What are the original Dorothy Temple Cross Awards?
The original DTC grants aimed to support new collaborative projects between mid-career TB researchers in Africa and the UK.
The Skills, Training and Development Awards
Our STDAs provide the funded researchers with the opportunity to develop skills and training in their field and enhance their career development. In particular, these awards include a number of knowledge exchange visits and partnership building.
2023 Awardees:
Dr Esto Bahizire proposes to use the funding for a knowledge exchange and networking visit to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) alongside their DTC partner, Dr Naomi Walker. This will further their knowledge of pathogen genomics and establish relationships with academics at KEMRI.
Dr Celso Khosa and Dr Tom Wingfield will attend the McGill Tuberculosis Summer school which is a training course in applied epidemiological statistics course in R software and an international TB conference. The Medical Research Foundation funding will support the consolidation of an already established research partnership.
Dr Robert Krause plans to visit the lab of their DTC partner, Professor Paul Elkington, to carry out training in single cell RNA sequencing, followed by data analysis support from Professor Elkington. Professor Elkington will also visit African Health Research Institute where Dr Krause is based. During this visit, Professor Elkington plans to further develop the collaboration with Dr Krause, mentor PhD students and early career researchers (ECRs) based at AHRI, share technical expertise, and develop new collaborations with other academics.
Dr Tariq Ganief plans to send a PhD student from his lab to Dr Karl Burges’ lab to be trained in targeted metabolomics in order to generate novel data and transfer skills to Dr Ganief’s lab as well as strengthening the existing collaboration. Dr Karl Burges will visit the University of Cape Town, where Dr Ganief is based, to collect and work on clinical metadata, metabolomics and proteomics data.
This funding will foster new collaborations as Dr Jacqueline Cliff plans to visit The MRC Unit the Gambia to foster a new collaboration with Dr Fatoumatta Darboe. Dr Cliff will provide training in flow-cytometry and in return receive training in gene expression models and analysis. The application also includes plans support the set-up of a cell-based model in their new lab as well as attendance at an international TB conference.
A novel use of the funding is proposed by Dr Robindra Basu Roy who plans to attend biostatistics clinical trial design courses. This has the potential to significantly impact his career as he makes his next career step into translational medicine.
What are the Dorothy Temple Cross Awards?
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The Dorothy Temple Cross Fund was originally set up by Florence Temple Cross in 1929, the widow of Horatio Robert Odo Cross, Surgeon General of the Royal Grenadier Guards.
The fund is named after Florence’s daughter, Dorothy, who died in the 1920s from TB. The donation to the Medical Research Council (MRC) was intended to support Fellows undertaking research or teaching in TB overseas, and aimed to encourage improvement in the methods for preventing and treating TB.