Briefing Session of D71 Fellowship program

MOU sigining ceremony

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and icddr,b signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 27 th August,2017             to form an institutional platform and collaborate research initiative of clinical science across various health disciplines, including non communicable diseases. The event took place at the BSMMU Vice Chancellor’s conference room attended by participants from the partner organizations.

Collaboration between BSMMU, the first and only medical university in Bangladesh, the BMJ, one of the oldest high impact medical journals, and icddr,b, one of the leading public health research institutes and the winner of the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize 2017) will stress on reducing knowledge gap and strengthening capacities for conducting scientific research by the clinicians of the national institutions of the country.

This collaboration will also help in creating next generation researchers to tackle unforeseen public health challenges of the next century. Specific scopes of the agreement include provide facilities and share of knowledge and experience, help conduct clinical research training, organise workshops and scientific seminars and help prepare research protocols and conduct scientific research.

It also covers help to write research grant and raise research funding, and finally help publish and circulate papers, periodicals, books, publications and other literary works.

On the occasion, Prof Kamrul Khan, Vice Chancellor of BSMMU, said, “I strongly feel the requirement of a critical mass of local scientists and health research professionals to collaborate in clinical research to address the rising burden of NCDs and other emerging health issues.

He said he believes the proposed clinical research platform will create a golden opportunity for producing a pool of local scientists, clinicians and educationists to conduct independent research appropriate to health priorities in Bangladesh.

Prof John D Clemens, executive director of icddr,b, said icddr,b has many pioneering collaborative research initiatives; discovery of ORS is a good example of the outcome of successful collaboration. In any resource poor setting like Bangladesh, scientific collaboration will further strengthen generations of research evidence, translating research into policy and practice, and will eventually save more lives, said the ED.

While addressing the event, Syed Monjurul Islam, deputy executive director of icddr,b, said, “Today icddr,b’s research scope is not limited to diarrhoeal diseases, but has expanded to addressing some of the most critical health concerns facing the world; ranging from diarrhoeal disease surveillance to clinical trials in hypertension and diabetes. I believe the proposed clinical research platform will enhance the interactions between researchers and clinicians, and develop innovative ideas for combating future health challenges in Bangladesh.”

Highlighting his optimism, the BMJ’s Managing Director of India & South Asia Prashant Mishra said they believe they'll be able to create value in terms of medical research output from Bangladesh.

“Our vision is to create a healthier world and this tri party initiative that includes BSMMU, ICDDR & BMJ, shall help us accomplish it. BMJ's the Research to Publication programme is part of the BMJ's commitment to building medical research capabilities around the world. Created in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), the

programme launched in early 2016".

Dr Aliya Naheed, head of Initiative for Non Communicable Diseases, icddr,b, said scientific discoveries and evaluations are essential for identifying better treatment regimens for

battling against the increasingly challenging health issues, and translation of that research into action is imperative for saving more human lives.

"Besides, generating local evidence, Bangladesh urgently needs to develop and further strengthen its human resource capacity in controlling and effectively addressing the impending threat of chronic diseases focusing on both therapeutic and prevention strategies," Naheed said.

"The BMJ has played a big role in establishing evidence of better therapeutic or preventive care for a broader dissemination of research benefit. Through this partnership icddr,b will be able to help strengthen local capacity for conducting clinical trials.”