Recognizing Emerging African Leaders in Infectious Disease

The Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award is presented to an emerging African leader who has contributed to the field of infectious disease in Africa and has earned remarkable accomplishments in teaching, research, and/or clinical science. The award, created in 2010 in honor of Accordia Global Health Foundation's founder, Dr. Merle Sande, recognizes the efforts of African healthcare leaders who have contributed significant improvements to the health of their home communities and embody Dr. Sande's passion, intellectual drive, and spirit.

2014 Award Recipient

Accordia Global Health Foundation is pleased to name Dr. Faith Osier as the 2014 recipient of the prestigious Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award. Faith Osier, MD, PhD, is a pediatrician whose work focuses on the development of effective malaria vaccines, through the identification of targets and mechanisms underlying naturally acquired immunity. She is currently a Clinical Research Fellow and Group Leader at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)– Centre for Geographic Medicine Research. Read her bio.

Previous Awardees

Dr. Damalie Nakanjako 
Dr. Damalie Nakanjako was honored for her work focused on optimizing HIV treatment outcomes and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently a lecturer in Makerere University's Department of Medicine and a Wellcome Trust Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Infection and Immunity at the Infectious Diseases Institute.

Dr. Kamija Phiri
The University of Malawi's Dr. Kamija Phiri was honored for his work on investigating new strategies to prevent malaria, especially severe malarial anemia–one of the disease's most common and devastating complications–in children under five.

Dr. Christian Happi
University of Ibadan's Dr. Christian Happi was recognized for his outstanding work on the molecular basis for Plasmodium falciparum resistance to antimalarial drugs.

Professor WD Francois Venter
Professor WD Francois Venter, of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, is a leading researcher on topics related to HIV and Tuberculosis and is dedicated to developing more effective and coherent approaches to addressing these diseases. Application Process The 2016 application period is now closed. Applications will be accepted in October 2015.

Application Process

The 2016 application period is now closed. Applications will be accepted in October 2015.

Eligibility and Criteria
Candidates may apply on the strength of their accomplishments in teaching, research, or clinical science.
1. Candidates must possess a medical or doctoral degree from an accredited university in sub-Saharan Africa
2. Applicants must be actively engaged in clinical and/or research activities in sub-Saharan Africa
3. Applicants must originate from sub-Saharan Africa and be under the age of 45
4. Applicants must demonstrate strong personal leadership attributes
5. Applicants must be proficient in written and spoken English

Background

Dr. Merle Sande was a visionary known for his enthusiasm for work as well as life, his joy in teaching, and his outstanding leadership abilities. He was a renowned infectious diseases specialist with a brilliant career and a passion for medicine. Dr. Sande had an indomitable spirit, a remarkable breadth of knowledge, and a knack for persuading his students and colleagues that they were as excited about the subject as he was. His dreams knew no boundaries. He was an inspiration to all who surrounded him in life and in the field of medicine.

Dr. Sande's most indelible mark on life occurred when he focused his attention on the AIDS crisis in Africa and established Accordia and its Academic Alliance. As Chief of Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital in the early 1980s, Dr. Sande had been on the frontlines when AIDS hit San Francisco. In those early years, there was no treatment, and he helplessly watched as thousands died. Hope emerged with antiretrovirals. However, the AIDS crisis in Africa grew, and Dr. Sande was eager to help. He gathered his colleagues and convinced them that together, with their experience and resources, they could stem the tide of the African pandemic. He had a mission and the foresight to realize that the real challenge to the African HIV/AIDS crisis was to build healthcare capacity, specifically by training physicians and healthcare professionals to care for the vast numbers of HIV infected patients. Dr. Sande realized the paramount need to strengthen and upgrade academic medical centers in sub-Saharan Africa, so they could educate and prepare a generation of healthcare professionals skilled in the best practices to lead a resurgent effort against infectious disease.

His vision came to fruition when the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, Uganda was created as a preeminent center in sub-Saharan Africa for infectious disease training, treatment, and research. Through Dr. Sande's dream, IDI is providing opportunities for emerging African healthcare leaders and is empowering a new generation working to overcome the burden of HIV and other infectious diseases in Africa.

For more information

If you have questions related to the Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award or the application or evaluation process, please email sandeawardaccordiafoundation.org.