Dr Chelsea Morroni awarded prestigious NIHR Global Health Professorship

Dr Chelsea Morroni is one of seven researchers to be awarded a 2024 National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Research Professorship, and the first in Scotland to receive this prestigious funding.

Dr Morroni is a Chancellor's Fellow in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health at the Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh Institute for Regeneration and Repair. She is also a Research Associate with the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership.

This NIHR Global Health Professorship aims to improve sexual health in pregnancy in Africa by taking a people centred-approach. Building on an existing programme working with patients and community members - including women and young people affected by sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and pregnancy - the project aims to fully understand their experiences, needs, worries and ideas for change.

The people affected by these issues will guide every step of this project by sharing their experiences, setting priorities and goals, reviewing progress, presenting findings and advocating for better sexual health and sexual health services.

The NIHR Global Research Professorship scheme funds researchers to promote effective translation of research and to strengthen research leadership at the highest academic levels. It funds research that aims to specifically and primarily benefit people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The research must benefit people in countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Over my career, I’ve been so fortunate to work with and learn from so many amazing people—healthcare providers, patients, researchers, research participants and advocates—all committed to improving sexual health in Southern Africa, and around the world. It is such a privilege to be awarded this NIHR Global Research Professorship, which will enable me to build and expand my international research team and be of continued service to the field of sexual and reproductive health research, training, policy and advocacy.

At the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership Dr Morroni is founder and director of the Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative (BSRHI).

BSRHI was established in 2014 with the aim of addressing important research questions to improve sexual and reproductive (SRH) outcomes among women and girls. Alongside research, BSRHI also provides clinical SRH/HIV training and services, and technical assistance and advisory support to ministries of health, as well as other regional and international organisations.

This prestigious award shall strengthen ongoing BSRHI work in key and vulnerable populations in Botswana and globally, while building essential capacities for next generation scientists and mitigating the impact of sexually transmitted infections, advancing HIV/AIDS epidemic control and addressing the challenges of preventable malignancies such as cervical cancer.

NIHR Global Research Professors receive five-year awards of up to £2 million. This includes funding for early-career research and support posts. They also receive access to a leadership and development programme. Since 2018, 19 people have been awarded a Global Research Professorship.

I’m delighted to warmly welcome these seven exemplary researchers as the latest cohort of NIHR Global Research Professors. As leaders in their fields, these outstanding individuals will play a key role in improving the health and care of people around the world as well as developing early career researchers in their teams.

The Global Research Professorship is our flagship award. It funds researchers to translate discoveries into enhanced interventions, diagnoses and treatments. This year, our Global Research Professors are working across a range of pertinent areas including sexual health, HIV/AIDS, mental health and multi-morbidities.

I look forward to seeing how their research progresses and the difference their research will make to communities across the world.

This article was published on 2024-08-20