Dr Lesong Conteh from LSE Health has been awarded the Wellcome Trust Career Development Award. She is the first academic at LSE to receive this highly prestigious funding.
Dr Conteh has received the award for her project, ‘A new era in the African market for diagnostics: capturing health and economic benefits’. Over the next six years, the project will explore the impact of improved access to community level and Point of Care (POC) diagnostics with experts across Africa.
The funding will help establish a new multidisciplinary team who will work to improve our understanding of access barriers, how diagnostic tools are valued and their potential health and economic benefit, much of which remains unknown and underexplored.
When asked, "Why diagnostics?" Dr Conteh stated, "Diagnostics, particularly simple-to-use tests in community settings, play a crucial role in improving global health by enabling early disease detection, effective treatment, and prevention of drug resistance. Unequal and restricted access to diagnostics has equity and social justice implications."
Commenting on the award, she said: “This Wellcome funding on point-of-care tests offers an exciting opportunity to collaborate with experts and add to our understanding of the health and economic benefits of expanding diagnostic production and use across Africa.”
The Wellcome Trust Career Development scheme provides funding for mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders.
For more about the announcement, please visit: Lesong Conteh awarded Wellcome Trust Career Development Award