Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) - Cambridge Collaboration
https://cambridgeghp.org/our-work/health-partnerships/health-partnerships-uganda/paediatriccancer/
The Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative
Our first Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative Newsletter, Issue 1, October 2020 is available here. The second Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative Newsletter, Issue 2, January 2021 is available here and the third Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative Newsletter, Issue 3, May 2021 is available here. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive future newsletters.
Background
The Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative is a collaboration between the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) and several departments at the University of Cambridge. The UCI is a cancer treatment, research and teaching centre located in Kampala, Uganda, which has 80 beds and sees approximately 200 patients every day. The collaboration between UCI and Cambridge started in 2018 and has since grown into a wider network compromising of a number of research projects, collaborations and student exchanges. Several departments and organisations are involved; see our Partners section for more information. All those involved in the collaboration meet regularly to discuss developments. Read more about our joint working below.
The Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) visits to Cambridge
In May 2019, a team from the UCI comprising of Dr Jackson Orem, Executive Director Uganda Cancer Institute and Head of Delegation; Dr Joyce Balagadde-Kambugu, Head Paediatric Oncology; Dr Nixon Niyonzima, Head Research and Training; Ezra Anecho, Grants and Administration and Godfrey Osinde, Head Pharmacy of Nuclear Medicine visited Cambridge. The focus of the visit was to deepen and strengthen the emerging collaboration between the CRUK Cambridge Cancer Centre, CRUK CI and the UCI. Potential areas of mutual interest for research collaborations were explored across the spectrum of disciplines of oncology and cancer research including paediatric oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology and haematology, gynecologic oncology and basic science research. Opportunities for training were explored through student exchange programmes at various levels. The visit explored mechanisms for funding to support and sustain the collaboration. Read more here. Since then, six students from Makerere University or the UCI visited Cambridge to attend the CRUK CI Summer Research Programme (see below). Sylivester Kadhumbula, a technician based in the UCI also visited Cambridge for specialised training.
University of Cambridge visits to the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI)
There have been numerous visits to the UCI by members of staff and students at the University of Cambridge. In February 2018, Dr Maike De La Roche, CRUK Cambridge Institute (CRUK CI) and Corinna Alberg, Cambridge-Africa made the initial visit to the UCI and met with key individuals including the Director, Dr Jackson Orem, and the Head of Research, Dr Nixon Niyonzima. In January 2020, Professor Greg Hannon, Director of the CRUK Cambridge Institute (CRUK CI), joined Corinna Alberg from Cambridge-Africa and Dr Suzanne Turner from the CRUK Cambridge Centre and Department of Pathology on a visit to officially launch the new CRUK CI Summer Research Programme (see below). The visit also included meetings between the UCI, the Cambridge delegation and the Ugandan Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda. Read more about their trip here. Marta Ferraresso, a postdoc researcher under the supervision of Dr Suzanne Turner spent a year at the UCI to carry out research into Burkitt Lymphoma. Jamie Matthews, a Cambridge-based PhD student also visited the UCI in 2019. In February 2020, Mike Gill and Davina Gale, both scientists at CRUK CI, travelled to the UCI to interview two positions on the CRUK CI Summer Research Programme. Read more about their trip here. See our History and Timeline page for more information about previous visits and project developments.
Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (CRUK CI) Summer Research Programme
In 2019, Henry Wannume and Paul Katongole, both from Uganda, spent June and July in Cambridge as part of a pilot scheme for a the new CRUK CI Summer School. The CRUK CI Undergraduate Summer Research Programme provides a ten week bespoke trading programme and reserves two please for students from the UCI and the Eastern Africa region. Ugandan students are provided with transport, accommodation and a stipend while here. This collaboration will continue and will lead with a high quality training programme for Uganda students and lead to shared learnings for both parties. Students gain a considerable amount of experience including working in one of the multidisciplinary research groups working on a range of projects and in different labs under the supervision of a mentor. They will also have the opportunity to present their work at the Summer Student Symposium. The programme is designed to offer students with a great deal of skills beneficial for their next academic or scientific step. Read more about the programme here.
The CRUK CI Summer Research Programme for 2020 was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions but resumed in 2021. The research visit for the two Ugandan students Resty Nabeeta and Faith Ameeda took place in October-November 2021. Read Resty's and Faith's blogs on their research visits.
In October -November 2022 Maria Magdalena Namaganda (pictured with the Bornelov research group at CRUK CI) and Faith Amide (pictured with Mike De La Roche and Corinna Alberg at CRUK CI participated in the CRUK CI Summer Research Programme.Faith joined the De La Roche Group for her research activities.
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The Student Elective Exchange Programme
The University of Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine is able to provide a number of elective placements each year for medical students based outside of Cambridge. The elective placements are for a maximum of six weeks and take place at the Cambridge University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Students observe various aspects of the running of the department from meetings to medical procedures, giving an invaluable opportunity to learn from some of the UK’s leading medical consultants. Two places are reserved for Ugandan students each year. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 the elective programme was postponed until 2022. In June 2022 medical students from Makerere University, Ferguson Natukunda and Abraham Matovu Ddungu, pictured here with their Addenbrookes colleagues, arrived for a six week elective in haematology and oncology. Read Ferguson's and Abraham's blogs on their electives in Cambridge. See the School of Clinical Medicine website for more information.
CGHP Paediatric Cancer Partnership
Cambridge Global Health Partnerships (CGHP) has been involved with the UCI since 2019. The partnership is hybrid, compromising remote meetings and learning sessions as well as in-person visits to Uganda and to the UK. It involves a multidisciplinary team of pharmacists, nurses, paediatric oncologists, haematologists and pathologists from both Cambridge University Hospitals Trust (CUH) and UCI working together to develop new processes, skills and knowledge to address the issues specifically affecting patient outcomes and survival rates in Uganda, and informing and improving care for sick children in Kampala and Cambridge. Through reciprocal training, mentorship and support, the partnership is focusing on four key areas: improving chemotherapy protocols, speeding up the diagnostic process, developing educational resources for patients and their families, and strengthening nursing care. In this blog, Global Health Fellow Philip Adedokun explains how the teams are working together to audit the pathology process and implement realistic changes to improve the oncology sample quality and turnaround times, so that children with cancer start the correct treatment plan as soon as possible. You can find out more about the partnership here.
Research Collaborations between University of Cambridge and the UCI
Burkitt Lymphoma Project: In 2018, Dr Suzanne Turner, Department of Pathology and Dr Jackson Orem, UCI were awarded GCRF-QR pump-priming funds for a project on "Understanding disease pathogenesis to develop targeted treatments for African children with Burkitt Lymphoma”. Group members include Gill Currie and Marta Ferraresso, a postdoctoral researcher who spent a year at UCI.
Prostate Cancer Project: In October 2019, Dr Charlie Massie, Department of Oncology and Dr Nixon Niyonzima, UCI were awarded a one year Cambridge Africa ALBORADA Research Fund grant for their project "Validation of cell-free DNA methylation markers for minimally-invasive detection of Prostate Cancer at the Uganda Cancer Institute”.
Communications and Newsletters
Our first Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative Newsletter, Issue 1, October 2020 is available here. The second Uganda Cambridge Cancer Initiative Newsletter, Issue 2, January 2021 is available here and our third newsletter is available here. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive future newsletters.
Along with these webpages we are active on twitter @CambridgeAfrica. We use the newly created hashtag #UgandaCambridgeCancer for anything related to the collaboration. The UCI are also on twitter @UgandaCancerIns and have an active Facebook page. Please read more about the individuals involved in the Initiative on our Timeline. All blogs, trip reports can be found in our Blogs section.
Contact
If you would like further details or would like to be involved in the collaboration please contact Corinna Alberg ca392@cam.ac.uk. We are in the process of applying for new funding bids to enable us to expand our network.