CORE Partners with NGDI-UBC in Neglected Global Disease Research

CORENGDI logo2

For Immediate Release:

VANCOUVER, BC—April 29, 2013: The Collaborations for Outcomes Research (CORE) and the Neglected Global Diseases Initiative at the University of British Columbia (NGDI-UBC) today announced that they will collaborate on developing projects that will support CORE trainees and also NGDI members in their work to develop interventions and deliver them to those in need.

“The CORE team has significant and expanding expertise in health economics, program evaluation and pharmacoepidemiology.  This partnership will support our membership in their projects and contribute to the multidisciplinary aspect that is vital for health policy development in neglected global diseases,” said Dr. Kishor M. Wasan, Director and Co-Founder, NGDI-UBC and Professor and Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC.

“NGDI-UBC brings to CORE an extensive network within UBC that crosses disciplinary boundaries. This partnership will augment current and future research opportunities and continue to strengthen our trainee education,” said Dr. Carlo A. Marra, Director at CORE.  “Trainees come from or work in a variety of countries that are affected by neglected diseases,” said Dr. Marra.

The NGDI-UBC and CORE connection is already working for Ph.D. students Nelson Gorrin and Anik Patel. Their projects are co-supervised with Dr. Marra and a member from NGDI-UBC. Nelson is examining the ecosystem approach to prevent infections and reduce antibiotic resistance in Ecuador; his co-supervisor is Dr. Annalee Yassi, Professor of the School of Population and Public Health.  Anik is examining the economic impact of SMS in improving retention and adherence to HIV therapies in Kenya with co-supervisor Dr. Richard Lester of the BC Centre for Disease Control and Assistant Clinical Professor at UBC.

In addition, Dr. Larry Lynd, Associate Director of CORE, will be accepting two graduate students in September; one for a project in Cambodia with Dr. Timothy Green, Associate Professor in the faculty of Land and Food Systems and an NGDI-UBC member, the other is a Rwandan physician pursuing his M.Sc degree concentrating on maternal, newborn, and child health.

“Building capacity for skills in evaluations and outcomes research in lesser developed countries where neglected global diseases are endemic is an important role that we will continue play ,” said Dr. Larry Lynd.

About the Neglected Global Diseases Initiative at UBC

The Neglected Global Diseases Initiative at UBC brings together the technical expertise and perspectives of a variety of disciplines at UBC – including bench science, pharmaceutical and health research, business, social policy, and law – to develop interventions for neglected global diseases and ensure their delivery to those in need. For more information, visit www.ngdi.ubc.ca.

About CORE

The University of British Columbia’s Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) group addresses the need for clinical and economic research, and education in pharmaceutical outcomes assessment. The CORE team is a multidisciplinary group of researchers with expertise in clinical pharmacy, pharmacoepidemiology, health economics, health services research, program evaluation and health promotion research.

CORE strives to provide evidence which will maximize the clinical, quality of life, and economic benefits of drug therapy, while minimizing associated risks. This is achieved through independent research and research collaborations with pharmaceutical and health outcomes researchers throughout North America and Europe.  For additional information, visit www.core.ubc.ca.

###


For additional information, please contact:

CORE:
Dr. Carlo Marra
Director
604.827.3398
Carlo.Marra@ubc.ca

Or

Dr. Larry Lynd
Associate Director
604.827.3397
Larry.Lynd@ubc.ca

NGDI-UBC:
Dr. Kishor Wasan
Director
604.822.4889
Kishor.Wasan@ubc.ca