Welcome to our newsletter
Last month, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partnership marked 10 years of achievement with the publication of a report entitled ‘A Decade of Partnership and Results’. It is hugely encouraging to read of the progress made during this period. The next decade could see major achievements in malaria control, but this will only happen if we combine our resources and work collaboratively.
Partnership is the theme of this newsletter. I am delighted to welcome the driver behind much of RBM’s achievements, Executive Director Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, as a new member of the WWARN Board. Read her interview with WWARN as she discusses the challenges ahead for RBM – as well as the potential for collaboration.
We are also annoucing three exciting, new WWARN initiatives aimed at furthering collaboration. In partnership with Global Health Trials, we are launching new e-learning training courses for malaria clinical research teams; our QA/QC programme is being expanded with a particular focus on molecular data; and we are inviting participation in four WWARN Study Groups through which researchers will pool experience and knowledge to answer some of the outstanding questions about antimalarial resistance.
We invite you to share news of these initiatives with your colleagues, and sign up if you have not done so already. We also welcome your feedback on ways to expand our partnership work.
Dr Philippe Guérin,
Executive Director, WWARN
News from WWARN
Researchers from around the world are invited to share their experience and knowledge to help investigate some of the critical questions in malaria drug resistance. WWARN is facilitating the formation of several collaborative groups to undertake analysis of their pooled data to answer specific research questions about antimalarial resistance. Pooling data sets from several studies will increase sample sizes, so that trends or sub-population effects can be identified with greater certainty. By working together and combining data from different regions, the aim is to improve the understanding of resistance and strengthen efforts to eradicate malaria.
WWARN scientists at the centre of global efforts to control malaria, including Director Philippe Guérin and Molecular Module Head Chris Plowe, are calling for immediate action by researchers, funders and policy makers to focus on eliminating the threat of artemisinin resistance. In a New England Journal of Medicine article published September 22, the authors highlight critical gaps in our understanding of artemisinin resistance necessary for designing effective strategies to prevent its emergence or spread.
WWARN has teamed up with Global Health Trials to develop short, interactive e-learning courses covering every step and issue involved in conducting high quality clinical studies. The first of 16 courses, especially targeted at researchers working in resource-poor areas with little access to training and educational facilities, can be accessed through the WWARN Learning Centre.
WWARN's Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) programme is expanding to support more laboratories conducting a wider range of analytical tests relating to antimalarial resistance. Launched two years ago, the service has already helped several pharmacology and in vitro laboratories conducting antimalarial drug assays to greatly improve the reliability of their analytical testing. Following this success, the programme is now opening to all laboratories involved in pharmacology and in vitro work. Addtionally, molecular laboratories now have their own proficiency testing programme.
Two questions in two minutes...that is all it will take to share how you’ve used digital media in your work. The anonymous results will be used to evaluate how we could use digital media to communicate with the WWARN community.
News In Brief
WWARN at ASTMH 2011
Find out how to benefit from joining the WWARN community and take advantage of our free tools and services, including QA/QC and e-learning. Visit stand 214 from 4-8 December in Philadelphia, USA.
