Bilkis Ara

icddr,b

icddr,b is an international health research institute. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, we are committed to solving public health problems through innovative scientific research – including laboratory based, clinical, epidemiological, and health systems research. By developing, testing and assessing the implementation of interventions specifically designed for resource poor settings, we aim to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the world's poorest nations. For more than 50 years, we have been carrying out high-quality research and promoting the uptake of evidence-based interventions. Our initial focus was on diarrhoeal disease, but we now study multiple infectious diseases, other threats to public health, and methods of healthcare delivery. Our work has had a profound impact on health policy and practice both locally and globally. We work closely with the Government of Bangladesh and many NGO practitioners in Bangladesh to devise, test and evaluate interventions, many of which go on to have an impact on policy and practice locally and globally. We run two hospitals specialising in the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases, but also offer other services (maternal, neonatal and child health at Matlab, respiratory diseases at Dhaka). Our doctors and nurses are deployed by the WHO to assist during cholera outbreaks in other countries. We have a 50-year history of conducting high-quality research in collaboration with other leading research institutions worldwide (such as Johns Hopkins). We have a skilled staff – most of whom are Bangladeshi – and a research infrastructure of hospitals, field sites and laboratories operating to international standards. We invest in our own staff and provide training and research opportunities to researchers and health care professionals from Bangladesh and overseas.