Partners

The consortium consists of the following full partners:

  • Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), represented by Athena Institute, VU University Amsterdam; Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam and the Academic Medical Center (AMC) at the University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) – Antwerp, Belgium
  • Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 – Bordeaux, France
  • University of Barcelona represented by the Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB), the research branch of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) – Barcelona, Spain
AIGHD

The overall goal of AIGHD is to understand and explain global health processes and problems and to facilitate global access to quality health care through innovative international and multidisciplinary research. The AIGHD is a legal collaboration between VU University Amsterdam (Athena Institute), University of Amsterdam and Academic Medical Centre.

1) Athena Institute, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Athena Institute is located within the Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences at VU University Amsterdam. Its mission is to realise excellence in transdisciplinary research on innovation and communication in the health and life sciences, with a specific focus on processes of social inclusion and diversity. The central question in the Athena research program is how science and technology can contribute to the improvement of health and well-being in a sustainable and equitable manner. Within the broad field of Global Health, research at Athena has focused on disability & development, maternal health, mental health and health system strengthening. Its transdisciplinary projects typically involve needs assessments and the analysis of options for improvement, implementation and the evaluation of interventions. The Athena Institute leads the TransGlobe consortium and is the programme’s coordinating body. It has well-established programmes at the bachelor’s and master’s levels (including a research master’s on Global Health) and guides dozens of PhD candidates.

2) Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The AISSR unites all social science research of the UvA. The research programme focuses on the functioning of contemporary societies and their interrelationships from historical, comparative and empirical perspectives. The research programme is organised into thematically focused groups with an anchor in one or more of the represented disciplines: sociology, geography, planning & development studies, political science and anthropology. Cooperation across these programme groups is institutionalised in four interdisciplinary centres. The AISSR brings in a wealth of knowledge on social science research in global health and will function as both host and partner institute for TransGlobe PhD students.

3) Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Centre at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The AMC Department of Global Health is specialised in global health research and education and focuses particularly on HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In addition, there is an increasing focus on noncommunicable diseases and leading professors with expertise in this field have been appointed. The department has many collaborations with organisations all over the world. AMC will function as both host and partner institute for TransGlobe PhDs.

 4) Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium

The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) is a specialised Flemish Higher Education Institution, advancing the sciences related to tropical, infectious and poverty-related diseases in humans and livestock including medical and veterinary public health. ITM aims to strengthen the rational basis of medical and veterinary healthcare in developing countries. 180 scientists carry out research, advanced education and policy support activities in three disciplinary departments (biomedical sciences, clinical sciences and public health). In 2010, 202 externally funded research projects were on-going in research fields including the genomics and metabolomics of pathogens, transmission dynamics, drug resistance, development of diagnostics, tropical medicine, clinical trials, disease control strategies and policies, access to quality healthcare and international/global health policies. Over 550 students graduate from ITM annually, among them 60-75 master’s students. Doctoral training and research is one of ITM’s key missions: currently it hosts more than 100 PhD students from around the world. To foster collaboration, all PhD students are also registered at a Belgian or international university, which formally delivers the doctoral diploma. In TransGlobe ITM will (co-)supervise and train PhD students. However ITM is not a degree-awarding institute. Their involvement in the programme is however necessary due to their unique educational and research expertise in several global health domains.

5) Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, France

Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, one of the four universities in Bordeaux, hosts the Doctoral Schools ‘Life and Health Sciences’ and ‘Social Sciences-Society-Health-Decision’. The former has approximately 310 students enrolled in its 3-year programme, with 550 supervisors in the fields of biological, health and medical research (broadly construed). The Doctoral School of Social Sciences-Society-Health-Decision gathers postgraduate courses that aim to strengthen the links between the social, political and human sciences and public health. The final objective is to create a high quality centre specialised in society, politics, mankind and public health. PhD students are welcome at research centres specialised in cellular biology, microbiology, nutrition science, pharmacology, social anthropology, psychology, public health, sociology, and educational and political science. The main disciplines offered for research are biomedicine and epidemiology, focused on topics such as vaccinology, tryponosomiasis, malaria, HIV and neglected tropical diseases. The university is a partner in several on-going Erasmus Mundus programmes. Two of them, one in neuroscience and the other in international health, are coordinated in Bordeaux. In TransGlobe, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 will act as promoter for PhD students.

6) Barcelona Institute of Global Health – CRESIB / ISGlobal – Spain

The non-profit Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) tackles health problems affecting the world’s most vulnerable populations through the creation, sharing and application of knowledge. A public-private partnership with a longstanding commitment to global health, ISGlobal builds on the research, training and health activities of its founders and strives to contribute to the global effort to improve health worldwide. The research arm of ISGlobal is the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB), a global health research institute developed from some of the leading academic and biomedical research institutions in Barcelona in response to the health challenges of the 21st century. Both institutions have the University of Barcelona as one of their partners. CRESIB as a research centre participates in the Doctorate in Medicine programme which already has a research line in international/ global health. The programme presents numerous lines of clinical and basic investigation involving prestigious scientists from different fields including international/global health. CRESIB/ISGlobal will act as (co-)promoter for TransGlobe PhD students.

The consortium consists of the following associate partners:

7. Hanoi medical university, Vietnam

8. Stellenbosch university, South Africa

9. University of western cape, South Africa

10. Makarere university, Uganda

11. Centro de Investigacao em Suade de Manhica, Mozambique

12. University Mohammed V – Souissi, Morocco

13. Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Mexico

14. Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

15. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru

16. University of Witwatersrand, South Africa