The Bringing Research to Impact for Global Health at Tsinghua (BRIGHT) Network held its first in-person partner meeting in Beijing on 6 November 2023.

The principal investigators (PIs) of the 2023 BRIGHT Grant awarded projects gathered at Tsinghua University campus, in person and virtual, to kickstart their transformative journey in global health research together with the faculty members of Vanke School of Public Health (VSPH), Tsinghua University. The BRIGHT Grant, which is the heart of the BRIGHT Network, aims to establish institutional connections and commitments to working together among higher education institutions, research institutes, and other organizations in developing countries.

Prof. Feng Cheng, Assistant Dean of VSPH, Vice Dean of Tsinghua Institute for Healthy China, and the PI of the BRIGHT Network, reiterated the purpose of the BRIGHT Network, “Partnership matters a great deal to addressing the world’s most pressing public health challenges, and the BRIGHT Network as an emblematic partnership that shows what Tsinghua University, a top university in China, and researchers from other developing countries can do to generate collaborative global health research in developing countries with international impact.”

The BRIGHT Grant project PIs – Dr. Omar Juma from Ifakara Health Institute, Dr. Andrea Kifyasi from University of Dar es Salaam, Dr. James Kingoo from Technical University of Kenya, Dr. Peter Karoli from Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research, Prof. Katharina Kranzer from Biomedical Research and Training, Zimbabwe, and Dr. Anselm Moshi from Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre, presented study design and planed next steps.

VSPH faculty members and the PIs had vibrant discussions with other participants on future collaborative plans with a vision to bring BRIGHT projects at scale, including Prof. Matilu Mwau, Senior Principal Clinical Research Scientist, Deputy Director of Kenya Medical Research Institute, Dr. Cyrus Mugo, Senior Research Scientist of Kenyatta National Hospital, Dr. Jie Cai, Editor in Chief of Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, Dr. Min Yang, Program Officer of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Beijing Office, Dr. Liangmin Gao, Assistant Professor of Institute for International and Area Studies, Tsinghua University, Charles Zhao, Research Fellow of Amref International University, Kenya, and about 15 Tsinghua International Master of Public Health (IMPH) students.

Prof. Kaibo Wang, Vice Dean of VSPH, presented the “BRIGHT Partner” badges to all the PIs.

Prior to the meeting, we were fortunate to have Dr. Margaret Chan, Founding Dean of VSPH, Emeritus Director General of World Health Organization, to congratulate the PIs as the first year’s awardees of the BRIGHT Grant, and hope the BRIGHT Network could create a collaborative environment to provide invaluable opportunities for forging connections within the global health research community.

The meeting was a great success and served to foster a sense of community and partnership among all the BRIGHT Network members.