Monthly Update, November 2023

Welcome to the VALIDATE Monthly Update for November 2023. In this issue, we share details of an fascinating series of VALIDATE online seminars, promote an exciting opportunity for those members who study skin NTDs, we change the way in which we communicate with members, and you will find all the usual information about external events and finding opportunities.

VALIDATE One Health Seminars 2023

In September 2023, VALIDATE hosted members and global experts in Paarl, South Africa, to discuss how the One Health model could be used to create TB and Leishmaniasis vaccines. The One Health model considers the links between human, animal, and environmental health. At the workshop, informative presentations were given by VALIDATE members and other experts. We're excited to share these insights with the wider VALIDATE Community in upcoming Online Seminars.

Seminar One: Inequitable Access to Medicines and Health Technologies in a One Health - 15 November 2023 - 15:00 GMT
Dr Richard Burchmore will outline the opportunities and limitations of Omic approaches and how they can be applied in the diagnosis and control of NTDs and Dr Adelaida Gomez will reflect on the unexpected impacts of antileishmanial use in the context of water pollution and cultural practices in endemic populations.
Seminar Two: Health System and Infrastructure Challenges in One Health - 23 November 2023 - 14:00 GMT
Dr Juan Dib will discuss infectious diseases in indigenous populations and Dr Niaina Rakotosamimanana will look at addressing the impact of unequal healthcare infrastructure on tuberculosis in Madagascar with innovative solutions.
Seminar Three: Cross-species Disease Transmission and Mitigation Strategies – 13 December 2023 - 10:00am GMT
Prof Eamonn Gormley will discuss the challenges of managing wild animals' involvement in the One Health epidemiology of M. bovis infection and Michele Miller will provide an overview of TB in wildlife in the South African context.

These seminars are open to all, so please share details with anyone you think might be interested.

WHO Informal Working Groups on Skin NTDs: expressions of interest

Following a major global meeting on skin NTDs in March 2023, the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the WHO are establishing different informal working groups to advance the work on skin NTDs and contribute to the implementation of the WHO NTDs roadmap 2021 - 2023 using an integrated approach as outlined in the strategic framework for integrated control and management of skin-related neglected tropical diseases.

We strongly encourage VALIDATE members who study skin diseases (including leprosy, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and buruli ulcer), to participate in these Working Groups by completing this survey (you can also scan the QR code to the right).

VALIDATE Emails Update

VALIDATE is changing the way it sends emails to members. We are moving over to The University of Oxford's Mail List System which is run using Sympa.

You will soon receive an email confirming you are a member from one of the following lists:

VALIDATE will use these email lists to send our Monthly Updates, Quarterly Newsletters, and all the usual information about our upcoming events and funding opportunities. We want to assure members that we will keep email addresses private and in accordance with GDPR regulations.

External Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

Royal Society - Career Development Fellowship - The Career Development Fellowship (CDF) is a four-year postdoctoral research fellowship pilot program designed to support underrepresented researchers, initially focusing on those from Black heritage backgrounds – Deadline 24 January 2024
Purchase mid-range equipment for biosciences research: ALERT 2023 - Advanced research equipment and the development of capability in this area is a key component in maintaining the competitiveness of the UK research base - Deadline: TBA
Develop interdisciplinary research proposals to tackle epidemic threats - Apply for seed funding to build interdisciplinary teams and develop research ideas to tackle epidemic diseases of animals, humans and plants - 27 February 2024

Events and Training

IUIS 2023, Cape Town, South Africa, 27 November 2023
British Society for Immunology Congress 2023 - Belfast, UK - 4 - 7 December 2023
RSTMH, Research in Progress London 2023, London UK, 7 December 2023

Jobs

LSHTM Associate Professor or Professor of Immunology (The Gambia) - Banjul, The Gambia, deadline: 12 November 2023

Publications

Intravenous Bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccination protects simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques from tuberculosis, Larson EC et al, in Nature Microbiology
Key advances in vaccine development for tuberculosis—success and challenges, Lai R et al, in NPJ Vaccines
Immunoinformatics-based multi-epitope containing fused polypeptide vaccine design against visceral leishmaniasis with high immunogenicity and TLR binding, Kumar P, in International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Let us know when you publish: We are always keen to share our members' research, so get in touch if you have recently published and we will share it on social media and our Publications Page.

What training can VALIDATE offer in 2024?

Since we began in 2017, VALIDATE has supported its members by providing training on everything from Flow Cytometry to Grant Writing and from Science Communication to Project Management. You can even find a number of our past workshops on our the VALIDATE Hub (please get in touch if you need help getting access).

We are now looking to 2024, and we want to give you the chance to suggest ideas for training VALIDATE can offer.

Please complete this short form and share any ideas you have for training that can help your career or your research.

As usual, the VALIDATE team is here to help, so get in touch if you have any questions, comments or ideas.

Published 3 November 2023