A message from the Principal Directors

George Research issue 13

George_Research_Issue_13_June July_2009

A message from the Principal Directors

It gives us great pleasure to introduce this issue of George Research with the announcement of the first ever centre for chronic disease in China to be hosted by The George Institute, China.

In June, US-based funders, National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) and UnitedHealth Group officially announced a large Global Health Initiative, which will take the shape of a worldwide network of research and training centres. Each centre will build institutional and community capacity to prevent and control chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular, lung diseases, and diabetes. This truly is a step in the right direction for improving global health.

As announced in our cover story, The George Institute, China will host the Center of Excellence in Beijing, alongside our long-term partners Peking University Health Science Center. The focus of projects will be broad-reaching including research and policy activities. Notably, we will be conducting a rural health initiative in similar vein to the Andhra Pradesh Rural Health Initiative in India to assess strategies for prevention and management of chronic diseases in rural China, in addition to stroke research, tobacco control, salt reduction and more.

While our centre is relatively small, this really can be seen as a watershed for chronic disease prevention and treatment on the international agenda. We look forward to updating you on the news from the Center of Excellence in coming issues of George Research.

In addition to this exciting initiative, we would like to take this opportunity to recognise the Institute’s 10th Birthday this year. Over the following pages, you will see highlights of various ways the Institute has made an impact on global health over the last ten years. We thank all of our partners, collaborators, staff and funders who have helped us achieve substantial successes since our establishment in 1999, including the University of Sydney - where the Institute was founded with support from the Faculty of Medicine.

We trust you will enjoy this issue of George Research,
Stephen MacMahon and Robyn Norton