By Lekan O.A. Ayo-Yusuf, BDS, MPH, PhD, associate professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa
Researchers around the globe gathered at the Endgame pre-conference Data to Action hosted by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the World Health Organization (WHO), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to share experiences and to discuss ways to use evidence to directly influence policy action.
As a lead presenter and facilitator, I presented on the global tobacco epidemic and shared the benefits of international collaboration using, as one important example, my ongoing partnership with the American Cancer Society under the leadership of Jacqui Drope, the Society’s Global Tobacco Control managing director.
One key point I conveyed was that this type of international research collaboration has enabled me to live and work in my own country and to use both my research and that of the students I mentor to directly impact the lives of South Africans by preventing the looming tobacco epidemic.
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