London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Int Health. 2010 Sep;2(3):181-5. doi: 10.1016/j.inhe.2010.07.004.
One pressing challenge in the fields of international health and tropical medicine is how to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Changes in how research is conducted are, however, contributing to progress in reaching these targets. Increasingly researchers from different institutions, countries and even continents are working together through research consortia. These consortia can be focused around research questions such as developing new TB vaccines, designed to deliver capacity building, promote advocacy, or to maintain efforts directed at threatened research areas such as leprosy research. Researchers connected through consortia can provide robust answers to research questions, removing duplication of effort, within a stimulating environment for discussion and development of research ideas. Another advantage is that south-south research links may be strengthened, which is of increasing relevance as the balance of power and money is moving south, providing new opportunities for the African continent. However, there are disadvantages as well as advantages to consortia. Having too many connections can immobilise researchers in a web of meetings, teleconferences, and reports, reducing the time for original innovative ideas. Learned societies, such as the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene provide their own networks and connections and allow the bigger issues of international health and development to be discussed in a multidisciplinary environment.
在国际健康和热带医学领域，如何在 2015 年之前实现千年发展目标是一个紧迫的挑战。然而，研究方式的改变正在促进实现这些目标的进展。越来越多来自不同机构、国家甚至大洲的研究人员通过研究联盟合作。这些联盟可以围绕研究问题展开，例如开发新的结核病疫苗，旨在提供能力建设、促进宣传，或维持针对麻风病研究等受到威胁的研究领域的努力。通过联盟联系的研究人员可以在一个鼓励讨论和发展研究思路的刺激环境中，对研究问题提供有力的答案，避免重复工作。另一个优势是可以加强南南研究联系，随着权力和资金的平衡向南转移，这一点变得越来越重要，为非洲大陆提供了新的机会。然而，联盟也有优点和缺点。过多的联系可能会使研究人员陷入会议、电话会议和报告的网络中，从而减少了他们提出原创创新想法的时间。皇家热带医学和卫生学会等专业学会提供了自己的网络和联系，并允许在多学科环境中讨论国际健康和发展的更大问题。
