The lecture, ‘An epidemic uncurbed: Tuberculosis control measures in Cape Town, 1910 to 2010’, was given by Prof Robin Woods of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, on Monday, 13 March in London, UK and on Thursday, 16 March in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Steve Lawn Memorial Fund was set up to commemorate Professor Stephen David Lawn, who died last September. His work contributed greatly to the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB), particularly among populations affected by HIV/AIDS, and the fund aims to carry on his legacy and to help inspire a new generation of TB researchers. To this end the fund supports a lecture, to be given annually in both the UK and South Africa, around the time of World TB day on 24 March.
This year, the lecture, ‘An epidemic uncurbed: Tuberculosis control measures in Cape Town, 1910 to 2010’, was given by Prof Robin Woods of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town on Monday, 13 March in London, UK and on Thursday, 16 March in Cape Town, South Africa.
Prof Robin Woods is a renowned South African physician-scientist who has been on the frontline of HIV/AIDS research, treatment and prevention for nearly two decades. He is currently the Director of South Africa’s Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, pioneering innovative treatment and research strategies at the epicentre of the HIV/tuberculosis co-infection epidemic.
At the London lecture, Dr Anthony Harries from The Union introduced the Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize, established as part of the fund in 2016 through a global partnership between the TB Centre of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK), the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, at the University of Cape Town, South Africa and The Union, also supported by The Lancet.
The Research Leadership Prize is for innovative research on tuberculosis and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and acknowledges young researchers conducting promising work focused on reducing the disease burden of TB and HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Nominations for the Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize 2017 will open in March along with other Union awards. The winner will be announced at the 48th Union World Conference in Guadalajara.
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Your help is needed to support these initiatives and continue inspiring a new generation of TB researchers.