Professor Ed Manley shortlisted for Newton Prize 2020
Professor Ed Manley has been shortlisted for the Newton Prize 2020, along with 26 other research and innovation projects between the UK and Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, and Turkey.
The Newton Prize celebrates outstanding international research partnerships that play an important role in addressing challenges in developing countries and around the world, such as the problem of producing clean energy, HIV prevention, the protection of historical sites, how to tackle water pollution, as well as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Ed Manley, Professor of Urban Analytics in the School of Geography and one of the project leaders, will be collaborating with Professor Frank Tanser, Africa Health Research Institute, Nelson Madela Medical School and South Africa/University of Lincoln on an exciting project titled ‘An epidemic in retreat? Establishing the population impact of combination prevention strategies in a resource-poor, hyper-endemic rural African population’.
The project’s delivery partners are the Academy of Medical Sciences and the National Research Foundation, South Africa.
The project will seek to understand the interaction of COVID-19 and HIV infection in South Africa. Through linkage to a comprehensive sero-surveillance infrastructure, and collection of movement, activity, and interaction data, the project will seek to understand how these two viruses co-exist and interact. The project will identify the factors and places of interaction and virus transmission, with a specific focus on young adults in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Professor Manley says “This is an exciting opportunity to bring together a detailed understanding of the prevalence of two highly damaging viruses, with fine-scale movement and activity data. Through these analyses, we hope to identify specific interventions to prevent transmission and control their wider spread.”
This is an exciting opportunity to bring together a detailed understanding of the prevalence of two highly damaging viruses, with fine-scale movement and activity data.
Each year the Newton Prize enables international research partnerships supported by the Newton Fund to continue working together on solutions to some of the world’s key challenges. Research and innovation is recognised an effective way to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and improve the quality of life for people in developing countries as well as the UK.
Further information
The shortlisted projects will be celebrated at a virtual event in November 2020 and the winners of each category will be announced.
