A team of 33 researchers at the University of Liverpool is pulling together brain infection studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America into a single coordinated programme for the first time. Acute brain infections—such as meningitis and encephalitis—kill or disable hundreds of thousands of people each year, especially in lower and middle income countries where diagnosis is slow and treatment is poor. The problem is that research on these infections has been fragmented, with individual countries working in isolation, making it difficult to compare data or test which management strategies work best across different settings. This group will combine its existing £25 million portfolio of brain infection research with Warwick’s expertise in applied health delivery to introduce complex interventions—such as better diagnostic algorithms and treatment protocols—directly into hospitals in resource-limited settings. If successful, the work could reduce death and long-term disability from brain infections by improving how quickly and accurately patients are diagnosed and managed, even where advanced medical infrastructure is scarce. The group also works with governments and the World Health Organisation to turn findings into national and international disease control policies.
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A) UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Infection as one of three University-wide research themes at the University of Liverpool (UoL). UoL is recognised internationally as a world leader on infection research in lower and middle income countries (LMICs), which was consolidated with £70M investment in its Institute of Infection and Global Health in 2010. The University’s Strategic Plan 2016-25 acknowledges infection as its strongest area of research, committing to further major investment. This includes UoL staff permanently embedded within partner institutions in LMICs (including Malawi), and investment in postgraduate research opportunities for students from LMICs, through dual/joint PhD programmes (including in Malawi and India). Within the University’s infection portfolio, the research on brain infections is one of its strongest areas, and has attracted considerable institutional support, including key recent staff appointments to develop this area. B) UNIVERSITY STAFFING AND SUPPORT UoL has 111 members of academic staff (41 professors) working in infection with £110.8M of research funding raised over the last 5 years. Underscoring UoL’s commitment to the area of global infection research, 21 new senior appointments have been made in the past 5 years, including 5 UoL staff based permanently in overseas partner institutions, with a similar number of junior appointments. The University’s brain infections research portfolio has been strengthened over the last 12 months with key appointments, including three Senior Clinical Lecturers working on brain infections (all coapplicants on this grant). UoL will provide 100% funding for the Clinical Research Fellow for this GHRG, provide support staff, and underwrite the time of Research Leaders, for whom only a nominal charge is made. Liverpool’s research on neurological infections is led by the Liverpool Brain Infections Group, which aims to reduce the global burden of neurological infections through: - Improved disease recognition and diagnosis - Greater understanding of the disease mechanisms - Better patient management and the development of new treatments - Work with Governments and the World Health Organisation to improve disease control. Headed by Solomon, the group currently comprises 33 members (Academic Staff, Post-Doctoral Research Assistants, Fellows, PhD students), working on brain infections in the UK, Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, these have all been bilateral relationships with different countries. This NIHR GHRG will for the first time pull countries together into a single programme of work, which will allow comparative studies. In addition, by combining with Warwick’s Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, it develops a programme of applied research introducing complex interventions to improve patient management. The Liverpool group’s work is supported by £25M of grant income from NIHR, Wellcome Trust, MRC, European Union, and other funders. Many former group members have returned to their own countries, where they now hold academic positions, including one who is a LMIC co-applicants on this grant. FACILITIES: The GHRG will benefit from: - UoL’s £90M capital investment plan which has created a world class environment for global health research, including the new Ronald Ross Building (£40M; 5,000m2 of state-of-the-art facilities, where the Liverpool Brain Infections Group is based) - LSTM’s £28M Centre for Tropical & Infectious Diseases, and £7M Wolfson Building, both support translational and applied research - UoW’s Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery which aims to develop practical solutions to health needs, and transform health systems in resource limited nations; supported by £12M of external grant funding. C) INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS The application builds on UoL’s strong relationship with UK partners, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). UoL and LSTM co-host the: - Well
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