IDDO and WWARN Director receives ASTMH medal

20 Oct 2023

Professor Philippe Guérin, IDDO and WWARN’s Director, has been awarded the Bailey K. Ashford Medal for his “distinguished” work in tropical medicine.

Philippe Guerin receives medal

The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH ) President Daniel G. Bausch presented the medal at a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, on the opening day of the 72nd annual meeting of the society

Professor Guérin was nominated for the award by Dr Abib Abera, of Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia, to mark his 25-year career in the field of tropical medicine where he has led research in clinical trials and epidemiology to improve outcomes for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

He began his career as a physician working in France and Nepal, before joining Médecins Sans Frontières where he worked in the field in many countries in Africa and Asia. He later moved into research and held a number of posts with the Wellcome Trust Oxford Research Unit in Thailand, the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and Épicentre in Paris - a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Research in epidemiology and response to emerging diseases.

Philippe’s interest lay in research and how data could be better used to further research. He has been the director of the WorldWide Antimalarial Network (WWARN) since its inception. WWARN is a collaborative data platform generating innovative resources and reliable evidence to inform the malaria community on the factors affecting the efficacy of antimalarial medicines. In 2016, Philippe established the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), focusing on neglected tropical diseases and emerging infections to provide an environment for equitable sharing of data, methods and infrastructure to generate evidence that improves outcomes for patients worldwide.

The Bailey K. Ashford Medal is named in honour of Bailey K. Ashford who recognised the connection between hookworm infection and anaemia at the age of 26.

Philippe said “I am thrilled to be awarded this medal, which is more of a recognition of the hard work of the very many people I have worked with throughout my career.”