THE 2018 UNION AWARDS RECOGNISE SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
Every year The Union presents awards at the Union World Conference on Lung Health. The awards are an important and valued way to recognise the work being conducted by those dedicated to lung health around the world.
The Union awarded Honorary Memberships to HIH The Princess Akishino of Japan and Professor Bertie Squire. This title is granted to people who have become distinguished through active participation in The Union’s activities and the fulfilment of its goals
HIH Princess Akishino of Japan was recognised for her lifelong commitment to ending TB, including her contribution to the promotion of anti-TB activities as Patroness of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association.
Professor Bertie Squire, a long-standing member of The Union, most recently served The Union as President of the organisation from 2008 through 2011, and then continued to serve on the Board as the Immediate Past President from 2011-2016. He has been involved in numerous Union activities from conferences to leading consultations in many scientific aspects.
Dr Joseph Amolo Aluoch collected his award in person at this year’s General Assembly, having been awarded the title in 2017. Dr Aluoch has been active in The Union since the mid-1970s when he was the Coordinator of the National TB Control Programme, in Kenya, and has been a long-time friend and advocate of The Union.
The Union Medal, The Union’s highest honour, was awarded to Professor Andrew Nunn, UK, and Professor Sir Alimuddin Zumla, Zambia. Prof Nunn has been at the forefront of research efforts to improve the treatment of TB for more than half a century and played a major role in many of the most important studies that have resulted in better treatments for people infected with TB throughout the world.
Prof Sir Zumla’s work has focused on improving global health, with an emphasis on assisting disadvantaged peoples of the world.
The Karel Styblo Public Health Prize acknowledges a health worker or a community organisation for contributions to TB control over a period of 10 years or more. The prize was awarded to Oksana Ponomarenko for making an outstanding contribution to TB control on a local, national and global level, with a focus on hard-to-treat DR-TB among vulnerable patients through her role as Country Director at Partners in Health, Russia.
The Union Scientific Prize acknowledges researchers at any stage in their career for work on TB or lung health published in the past five years. The prize this year was awarded to Katherine Fielding, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she has been a senior investigator and statistician on a series of ground-breaking trials.
Dr Lorenzo Guglielmetti was awarded The Union Young Investigator Prize, acknowledging a researcher’s work in lung health published in the past five years, when aged 35 years or younger. Dr Guglielmetti has an impressive body of research on optimised treatment for DR-TB, enhancing the evidence generated by the early availability of bedaquiline and delamanid.
The Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize was established in 2016 through a global partnership between the TB Centre of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, Cape Town, and The Union. It acknowledges young researchers under 40 years of age conducting promising work focused on reducing the disease burden of TB and HIV/AIDS in Africa.
This year’s winner is Dr Christine Sekaggya-Wiltshire, who leads the HIV-TB clinic at the Infectious Diseases
Institute at Makerere University, in Kampala. Dr Sekaggya-Wiltshire supervises care for complex cases of TB that are referred from health centres, and has conducted pharmacokinetic studies on anti-TB drugs in HIV patients.
The Princess Chichibu Memorial TB Global Award, recognising outstanding contributions to global TB control, was this year presented to Dr Amir Khan for his significant achievements in anti-TB activities.