The visit was organised as a result of existing links with the Cambridge-Africa Programme and the groups of Dr Suzanne Turner (CRUK Cambridge Centre & Department of Pathology) and Dr Maike de la Roche (CRUK Cambridge Institute) who work with the Uganda Cancer Institute.
The five senior representatives from UCI spent a week visiting a wide range of different cancer related Institutes and departments across the University and Cambridge University Hospitals, including the CRUK Cambridge Institute, Departments of Pathology, Paediatrics, Oncology and Radiology, the Hutchison MRC Centre and oncology clinics across the Hospitals.
Conversations across all these different areas have sparked several different potential areas for collaboration, including training schemes, clinical guideline development, and basic and applied research. Collaborative initiatives have already begun, with the arrival of two Ugandan early career researchers who will be spending two months at CRUK Cambridge Institute. Further news about the development of other initiatives will be available over the coming months,
At the end of the week, Dr Jackson Orem (Executive Director), Dr Nixon Niyonzima (Director of Research and Training), and Dr Joyce Balagadde Kambugu (Head of Paediatric Oncology) all spoke at a ‘Cancer and Global Health’ event co-organised by Cambridge-Africa, Cambridge Global Health Partnerships and CRUK Cambridge Centre.
Dr Jackson Orem, Executive Director at UCI said: “The team received overwhelming and enthusiastic welcome from the entire leadership and staff of all the Institutions visited. By working with Cambridge, the Uganda Cancer Institute has a lot to gain through harnessing the immense capacity in cancer science and applied research in prevention, early detection and diagnosis, as well as effective treatment”.
Dr Caroline Trotter, Director at Cambridge-Africa: “Cambridge is a world leading city for cancer research and the Uganda Cancer Institute is a Centre of Excellence for the whole East Africa region. Together there is an even greater breadth of knowledge. We look forward to strengthening links between Uganda and Cambridge through further collaborative projects and combined training schemes, helping to develop the next generation of international cancer researchers.”
Dr Suzanne Turner, Paediatric Cancer Programme Lead at the CRUK Cambridge Centre said: “Further developments in cancer research will only be realised through collaboration at all levels, both within Cambridge and also globally with international partners. This is one of the main aims of the CRUK Cambridge Centre and our links with the Uganda Cancer Institute are a key example of this. We look forward to working more closely with researchers and clinicians in Uganda to share our expertise but also to benefit from their experience and knowledge in order to end death and disease caused by cancer.”
Further information
A report of the visit by Dr Jackson Orem is available here
