The Royal Society Pfizer Award
Promoting science capacity building
Total pledged: £345,000 over three years
This prestigious international award, sponsored by Pfizer Ltd, is designed to reward scientists, based in Africa, at the outset of their research career and to promote science capacity building in the developing world.
£60,000 is awarded as a grant in order for the recipient to carry out a research project that is linked to an African centre of scientific excellence, which would normally be a University, or equivalent research centre. The grant is intended to cover the costs of the research project. A further £5,000 will be given as a prize to the recipient.
The winner in 2006 was Dr Alexis Nzila. Dr Alexis Nzila has
shown that drug resistance in malaria can be prevented by combining an
existing
anticancer drug, methotrexate, with folic acid. This is a significant
finding, and may one day lead to a new malaria treatment. Dr Nzila
intends to use the £60,000 award grant to further research this initial
finding
and better understand its potential as a malaria treatment.
