NEWS AND UPDATES
TB research consortium eyed in PH
The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has partnered with the US National Institutes of Health on the possible establishment of the Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT) Consortium in the Philippines.
Dr. Peter Kim, US-NIH Deputy Director talks about research opportunities through the establishment of the RePORT Consortium during
The RePORT Meeting held last 20 December 2016 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City
A business meeting held last 20 December 2016 served as a venue to discuss the research opportunities once the RePORT Consortium is established in the Philippines. Stakeholders from the academe, hospitals, national government agencies, TB research societies participated in the discussion.
The RePORT Consortium is an initiative to streamline tuberculosis (TB) research globally by providing a platform for standardized data management. According to Dr. Peter Kim, Deputy Director, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, RePORT establishes a formal platform for multicultural research partnerships where researchers perform the same data collection and analysis methods for easily validate TB research data.
Dr. Sonia Stoszek, Westat Senior Epidemiologist, shared about the common protocol used by RePORT consortia across the world. In her talk, Dr. Stoszek mentioned that a tool for data harmonization is vital in linking researchers facilitate merging and compatibility of TB data.
DOST has also signified its full support in TB mitigation through research. In her welcome talk, Usec. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara mentioned that research collaborations like RePORT would enable local researchers to upgrade their research capacities and contribute to the fight against tuberculosis. PCHRD Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya also assured the body that the Council will always be in coordination with partners in health to continuously provide research opportunities to prevent and control the prevalence of TB and other diseases. A Memorandum of Understanding signing between DOST and US-NIH is slated in January 2017.
RePORT consortia have already been established in India, Brazil, and Indonesia.