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Making a difference: 30 years of TDR

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 6, pages 401–407 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

When the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) was established in the mid-1970s, it represented an innovative institutional formula in terms of its structure and the manner in which scientists were convened from both developed and developing countries to address some of the world's most neglected parasitic diseases. A review of TDR's historical record sheds light not only on some important milestones in tropical-disease research, but also on how future challenges could be approached and hopefully surmounted.

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Acknowledgements

This text is based upon the book, Making a Difference: 30 Years of Research and Capacity Building in Tropical Diseases (TDR, 2007), which commemorates the 30-year anniversary of TDR's Joint Coordinating Board (JCB). A special thanks to past TDR directors A. Lucas and C. Morel, as well as JCB, STAC and TDR staff, past and present, who provided input and critical comments for this historical review.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert G. Ridley and Elaine R. Fletcher are at the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme on Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.,

    Robert G. Ridley & Elaine R. Fletcher

Authors
  1. Robert G. Ridley
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  2. Elaine R. Fletcher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert G. Ridley.

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Competing interests

Robert G. Ridley and Elaine R. Fletcher are employed by WHO/TDR.

Related links

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DATABASES

Entrez Genome Project

Anopheles gambiae

Leishmania major

Mycobacterium leprae

Plasmodium falciparum

Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma brucei

FURTHER INFORMATION

TDR

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Ridley, R., Fletcher, E. Making a difference: 30 years of TDR. Nat Rev Microbiol 6, 401–407 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1899

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