A global vision of better health for the world's citizens
Helping to reduce the global burden of disease is the vision of The George Institute for International Health. It is a vision that motivates and energises all our people. Such a vision can only be realised if people, organisations and governments work together, which means The Institute collaborates with a wide range of partners and communities across the globe. Best practice research into some of the world’s most debilitating and life threatening diseases is carried out by teams of leading international researchers in their fields. This valuable research evidence is then developed into health policies and practices that have the potential to improve the health and life expectancy of millions of global citizens.
International knowledge sharing and collaboration
The Institute has launched research, policy and training initiatives in over 40 countries, with the collaboration of more than 400 hospitals and universities. Ground-breaking research has been conducted into chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease as well as significant investigations in the areas of critical care, trauma, injury and neurological conditions. In recognising the link between lifestyle and chronic disease, The Institute also carries out significant research into lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity. Last year a Health Policy Unit was established with a focus on the development and delivery of new medicines and vaccines in neglected diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis.
Flagship global research projects include:
- Largest ever global clinical trial conducted into Type 2 Diabetes treatment. The Institute’s ADVANCE (Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease) study researched this disease, in 20 countries, including China, India and Malaysia as well as Eastern Europe. Results from this landmark study, published in the Lancet, showed how blood pressure lowering treatments could significantly improve outcomes for the 250 million people worldwide whose lives are impacted by the disease.
- Landmark Australian and New Zealand intensive care study. The SAFE TBI study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, provided vital information for the management of patients with brain injury. This provides clinicians with compelling new evidence and will have a major impact on clinical practice guidelines.
The George Institute, India
The George Institute, India seeks to discover modifiable causes of the conditions causing major disease burden in India, including communicable and non-communicable diseases and injuries.
It aims to identify effective and affordable prevention and treatment strategies and to strengthen health systems and services through:
- Large-scale clinical, epidemiological and health systems and services research projects
- Evidence-based health policy development, implementation and evaluation
- Capacity-building in epidemiology and biostatistics, clinical research, health systems and services research, and policy development
- Partnerships with academic institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and international multi-lateral agencies.
Based in Hyderabad, The Institute will draw on extensive expertise and a considerable track record in India and the Asia-Pacific region.
Collaboration with The Indian Council of Medical Research and the University of Sydney
Forming partnerships is at the heart of the strategy of The George Institute, India. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between The Indian Council of Medical Research, the University of Sydney and The George Institute, to facilitate broad ranging collaborations in research and teaching. This will contribute to improvements in population health and the health system in India.
Some George Institute, India projects:
- The Population Health Metrics Research Consortium Project is being conducted by The George Institute in collaboration with the University of Queensland in Australia, and Washington, Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities in the United States. With funding from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this project will develop tools to improve measurement of mortality and causes of death, which are expected to enable better health planning in countries such as India.
- The Andhra Pradesh Rural Health Initiative is a collaboration between The George Institute and The University of Queensland in Australia, the Byrraju Foundation, the Centre for Chronic Disease Control and the CARE Foundation in India. This initiative is working to identify the main health problems in the region and to develop evidence-based methods of dealing with them.
- The HIV/AIDS study in truck drivers is a collaboration between The George Institute, India and the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research, USA, the Nizam’s Insitute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, and SHARE/MediCiti’s Gati Community Health Center, Hyderabad. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA and will provide vital information for the development of evidence-based HIV prevention programs in India.
- The Andhra Pradesh Injury project will document causative patterns, mechanisms, and associated systems-related issues that contribute to injury occurrence, severity and outcomes. This information will help in planning interventions to reduce the high rate of injury occurrence and severity in India.
- The Evidence-based Population Health Models Project is being initiated by The George Institute, India in collaboration with a range of partners in India and internationally. This major project aims to provide answers to key issues of improving population health and health systems in India through long term studies of disease burden. This will include assessment of risk factors, the health system, and scientific evaluation of the impact of health interventions.