Dr Neil French of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is to take over as head of the Karonga Prevention Study, a large epidemiological research project covering Karonga District, a rural area in northern Malawi.

Research has been carried out at Karonga since 1979, when the British Leprosy Relief Association (LEPRA) set up a cohort study of leprosy. Wellcome Trust-funded research has built upon this foundation, beginning in 1996. In 2002, an extensive demographic surveillance system was introduced, which now covers around 30 000 Malawians.

Previous head Professor Paul Fine, also from the LSHTM, led a number of studies on TB and BCG vaccination. Karonga is now providing a platform for studies of HIV, the impact of antiretroviral therapy and bacterial infections. Antiretroviral therapy for HIV is beginning to be rolled out in Malawi, and Dr French aims to study its impact on HIV transmission, lifestyle and behaviour, and spread of TB. Other research at Karonga will focus on the impact of pneumococcal vaccination and how it is affected by infection with HIV.

New grants have been awarded to fund Dr French's research and associated projects, and to provide core support for the demographic surveillance system.