Scientific Leadership Prize

The prize recognizes scientists who have made significant achievements in their field and will continue to become leaders in their research field. In addition to their scientific excellence, the contestants should have made major contributions to the objectives of the EDCTP2 programme to strengthen research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa and to support South-South and North-South networking.

Objective of the prize

This prize is open to women and men up to 50 years of age who:

  • are excellent, world-class scientists working in Africa in the scope of the EDCTP2 programme
  • are residents of a sub-Saharan African country, or an EU Member State or a country associated with the Horizon 2020 programme
  • have made significant achievements in their scientific field and will continue to develop as leaders in their research field.

In addition to their scientific excellence, have made major contributions to the objectives of the EDCTP2 programme through strengthening research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa and supporting South-South and North-South networking.

This prize of €10,000 should be used to further the research programme of the winner and may support activities such as supporting study visits and training attachments to collaborating institutions, data collection for baseline studies, conference and meeting attendance, and other relevant research-related activities.

Recipients of the Scientific Leadership Prize

 

2023

Professor Kamija Phiri (Malawi)

Prof. Phiri leads the Training & Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE), an independent research organisation, which he established in 2018 with several field sites in southern Malawi. This self-sustaining unit supports research and postgraduate training. His research interests are the control of malaria and anaemia in children and pregnant women. His research has supported 22 PhDs.

 

 

 

 

2020

Professor Graeme Meintjes (South Africa)
Over the past 20 years, Prof. Meintjes has made huge contributions to the improved understanding of HIV-associated tuberculosis, tuberculosis immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, and HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis.

 

 

 

 

 

2018

Professor Keertan Dheda (South Africa)
Professor Keertan Dheda’s research work has focused on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and transmission of tuberculosis. He has made seminal contributions to the field of TB, has an outstanding publications record and is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Scientific Award.

 

 

 

 

 

2016

Professor Shabir Mahdi (South Africa)
Professor Shabir Mahdi is a clinical infectious disease epidemiologist and vaccinologist. His main research interests are epidemiology and prevention through vaccination of the leading causes of infectious disease-associated morbidity and mortality in children from low- and middle-income countries. In 2013, he received the Medical Research Council Life Time Award. He has 270 publications in international peer-reviewed journals.