The Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit’s (MORU) longstanding contribution to health across Asia was highlighted during the official visit of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok.

The visit marked the launch of the ASEAN-UK Health Security Partnership Programme in Thailand and celebrated the longstanding Thai-UK relationship in global health.

For more than four decades, MORU has brought together researchers, clinicians and laboratory scientists from Mahidol University, the University of Oxford and institutions across Asia. By combining patient and community perspectives with clinical, scientific and local expertise, its research has helped improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of major regional health threats, including malaria, melioidosis and antimicrobial resistance.

During the event, Her Royal Highness viewed a film featuring melioidosis survivors from Ubon Ratchathani. Their experiences demonstrated how MORU works with patients and communities to understand their needs and shape research on awareness, diagnosis, treatment, laboratory capacity and surveillance.

MORU Director Professor Nick Day then accompanied Her Royal Highness on a tour of a malaria laboratory, highlighting how patient-centred research and strong clinical and laboratory capability work together at MORU to support regional health security.

MORU is a collaboration between Mahidol University, the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine and partners across Asia, enabled through funding from Wellcome.