Quique Bassat is an ICREA Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal). He has a degree in Medicine from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB, 1999), a specialization in pediatrics (UaB, 2004), and Masters in Tropical Medicine and International Health (UB, 2004) and Epidemiology (LSHTM, 2008). He obtained his PHD in the year 2009 (UB) with work on the treatment and clinical characterization of malaria in Africa. He was based for several years at the Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM), in Mozambique, where he currently conducts most of his research, although in recent years he has started projects in other countries, including Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Brazil or Bhutan. Since January 2024, he is the General director at ISGlobal
Research interests
As a paediatrician, my research is based on the premise that there is no greater public health intervention than that which can reduce child mortality, particularly in poor contexts. I have worked in LMICs (Mozambique, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, India, Brazil and Bhutan) to understand and prevent malaria, pneumonia and other infectious diseases that most impact child survival. I’m interested in biomarkers of host response as diagnostic and prognostic tools to help risk stratify children and better prioritize care. My research has included the clinical development of malaria vaccines and new or repurposed drugs and drug-based strategies for malaria and other IDs. To improve the poor existing data on the causes of child mortality. we have developed and implemented in resource constrained settings the minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) method for mortality surveillance purposes. I enjoy approaching innovation for the purposes of solving global health problems.
Selected publications
– Bassat Q, Blau DM, Ogbuanu I, et al. 2023, ‘Causes of Death Among Infants and Children in the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network‘, Jama Network Open, 6, 7, e2322494.
– Balanza N et al. 2023, ‘Prognostic accuracy of biomarkers of immune and endothelial activation in Mozambican children hospitalized with pneumonia‘. PLOS Glob Public Health. 3(2):e0001553.
– Mahtab S, Madewell ZJ, Madhi SA, et al. 2023, ‘Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths Caused by Group B Streptococcus in Africa and South Asia Identified Through Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS)‘, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 10, 9, ofad356 – ofad356.
Selected research activities
2023 was a particularly successful year as we received new competitive grants. This included the Horizon H2021project “EChiLiBRiST” (Development and validation of a quantitative point-of-care test for the measurement of severity biomarkers to improve risk stratification of fever syndromes and enhance child survival”), which has been instrumental in attracting additional complementary funding and sub-studies (DTS, FIS, Widera Hop-on), on the area of prognostic biomarkers, where we continue to publish regularly innovative results. Additionally, we remain committed to publish analyses of our ongoing CHAMPS mortality surveillance, a project where the use of post-mortem techniques allows the unprecedented investigation of causes of death in stillbirths and children in high-mortality settings, to a level never explored in the past. Lastly, we continue exploring the clinical development and validation of new technologies for global health, ranging from a 3D printable low-cost retinograph, to a non-invasive ultrasound-based device designed to count white blood cells in the CSF through the open fontanel of young infants, bypassing the need of conducting lumbar punctures for the diagnosis of meningitis. Innovations such as these will allow a more equitable access to health solutions in those places where needs are highest.