Wellcome Trust-MRC Newton Fund Collaboration Opportunities in Vietnam
A new funding opportunity for health research collaborations in Vietnam and the South-East Asia region, has been launched under the Wellcome Trust-MRC Newton Fund collaboration.
The Newton Fund is a new UK government initiative intended to strengthen research and innovation partnerships between the UK and emerging economies. In partnership with the Medical Research Council UK, the Wellcome Trust will deliver Newton Fund research activities within its funding remit in South-East Asia.
Proposals under this collaboration are an excellent opportunity to address some of the key challenges for health in Vietnam as well as furthering science links between the UK and Vietnam. These collaborative research studies aim to build on health and medical research in Vietnam and contribute to reducing the dual burden of infectious and non-communicable disease on the fragile health systems, including addressing the increasing threat of anti-microbial resistance and neglected tropical diseases, among other health-related topics. These include:
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emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance and zoonoses
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non-communicable diseases
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maternal and child health
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mental health
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humanities, social science and policy and systems research.
Proposals addressing other topics of importance for the region will also be considered. British Ambassador Giles Lever said:
Healthcare is an important theme in our cooperation with Vietnam. I hope that this opportunity will lead to new and substantial collaborations under the Newton Fund Vietnam. I welcome the engagement of Wellcome Trust, with their long history of support for health research in Vietnam, and am confident that we will see a large number of concrete outcomes over the next four years.
The Wellcome Trust-MRC invite applications that fall within the remit of the Newton Fund for the following schemes:
Applications under this initiative should address research priorities that will meet the health needs of vulnerable communities in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines or Thailand. Applications must propose innovative world-class research programmes and can include plans to strengthen research training and build career pathways for researchers in the region.
Newton funding can only be awarded to research projects that are compliant with Official Development Assistance (ODA) criteria. The criteria may require that any Newton Fund project must make it clear that its primary purpose is to promote economic development and welfare in low- and middle-income settings, and to address poverty and development issues. More information on ODA criteria can be found here.
The first deadline for the above calls is 20th May 2015 for the Collaborative Award Scheme. Please see Wellcome Trust website for more information about the eligibility requirements, application process and deadlines.
Notes to editor:
About the Newton Fund:
The Newton Fund provides £375 million of funding over five years (2014-2019) for the partnership with 15 partner countries.
The Newton Fund Vietnam focuses on five thematic priorities:
(i) Health and life sciences;
(ii) Agriculture;
(iii) Environmental resilience and energy security;
(iv) Future cities; and
(v) Digital, innovation and creativity.
It consists of three strands:
(i) People: research capacity-building and fellowships;
(ii) Research: collaborative research projects on development challenges; and
(iii) Translation: training and partnerships to turn research into practical applications and development solutions.
MRC-Wellcome Trust collaboration falls under the Research strand.
Contact:
For more information, please contact: Ms Phan Lien Huong Research and Innovation Programme Manager British Embassy Hanoi Email: phan.huong@fco.gov.uk