Alberto García-Basteiro receives Early-Career Talent Alkebulan Award 2023

Alberto García-Basteiro, researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Hospital Clínic, has been awarded the Early-Career Talent Alkebulan Award 2023 in recognition of his research on tuberculosis in southern Mozambique, a region with a high burden of HIV infections.

The prize is awarded by the Association of Spanish Researchers (ACE) in Southern Africa, in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in South Africa, and funded by the Ramón Areces Foundation. The award recognises the outstanding work of young researchers in Southern Africa who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the region.

"It is a great honour to receive this award, which reaffirms our commitment and encourages us to continue working to develop tools to improve TB control in communities in Southern Africa, especially among the most vulnerable," says García-Basteiro. In addition to his work at ISGlobal and Hospital Clínic, García-Basteiro coordinates the TB and HIV research area at the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM). 

After more than 10 years working on tuberculosis projects in Mozambique, García-Basteiro has consolidated an internationally-recognised research group that contributes to the development of tools to fight tuberculosis, especially those most useful in low-income settings.

The Alkebulan Award for Early-Career Talent was presented on Friday 3 November at the Third ACE Southern Africa Research Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, by the Spanish Ambassador to South Africa, H.E. Raimundo Robredo, and the President of ACE in Southern Africa, Dr Alvaro de la Cruz Dombriz.

Antimicrobial resistance research also awarded 

This year's Early-Career Talent Alkebulan Award in the Southern Africanresearcher category was awarded to Delfino Vubil, from the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM), for his research on antimicrobial resistance in Manhiça, Mozambique.

Vubil's research interests focus on infectious diseases and the study of diagnostic tests, epidemiological surveillance and antibiotic resistance, particularly in diarrhoeal diseases, bacterial infections and other vaccine-preventable diseases.