Boyce receives Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award for "Treated Baby Wraps for Malaria Prevention"
Dr. Ross Boyce, a member of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine, has been honored with the "Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award" by the Clinical Research Forum. The award recognizes his groundbreaking project in Uganda, "Treated Baby Wraps for Malaria Prevention," nominated by UNC's North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute. Boyce, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology, received the prestigious award at the Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awards ceremony held May 11 in Washington, D.C.
"This year's award winners demonstrate the immense value of our nation's investment in clinical research, and the direct impact of that work on the health of millions of people in the United States," said Harry P. Selker, MD, MSPH, CR Forum Board Chair and Dean of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Tufts University. "All of these studies are scientifically brilliant. I cannot emphasize enough the pride I feel for the amazing work of our colleagues and clinical research as a field."
Boyce focuses on the spatial and clinical epidemiology of malaria and other vector-borne diseases, particularly in rural and underserved communities. In his landmark randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Uganda, Boyce and colleagues demonstrated that infants carried in permethrin-treated wraps experienced a significant reduction in clinical malaria incidence compared to controls. This intervention explored the use of treated baby wraps as a novel intervention to protect infants from malaria, demonstrating immediate impact on child health in malaria-endemic regions.
Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results have been recognized for their immediate impact on child health. At UNC-Chapel Hill, NC TraCS's Data and Safety Monitoring Board service provided critical support for the project, ensuring rigorous oversight and safety throughout the research process.
About the Clinical Research Forum
The mission of the Clinical Research Forum is to provide leadership to the national and clinical translational research enterprise and promote understanding and support for clinical research and its impact on health and healthcare. Each year, an annual competition determines the ten outstanding research accomplishments in the United States. These major research advances represent a portion of the annual return on the nation’s investment in the health and future welfare of its citizens.
Originally posted at globalhealth.unc.edu