This leadership role is for a highly experienced scientist in evidence synthesis who will lead the further development of evidence synthesis, as part of the Global Health Trials and Synthesis Unit, and across the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and its partners. The Department of Clinical Sciences is a global leader in evidence synthesis providing an excellent platform for translational research from concept through discovery and clinical trials to evidence synthesis, teaching, policy change and eventual health impact. Lecturers with an excellent track record are encouraged

With experience as a doctor in the UK NHS and in Papua New Guinea, former Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (CIDG) Coordinating Editor Professor Paul Garner was part of the team that set up Cochrane. Cochrane successfully mainstreamed systematic reviews globally as a method and has been highly influential in institutionalising their use in formal guideline development at the World Health Organization.

Key messages

Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay for tuberculosis disease and rifampicin resistance in childrenWhy is improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis important?

During August 2022, the CIDG published one new protocol in Issue 8, 2022 of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.New Protocol

How accurate are rapid antigen tests for diagnosing COVID‐19?Key messages• Rapid antigen tests are most accurate when they are used in people who have signs or symptoms of COVID‐19, especially during the first week of illness. People who test negative may still be infected.

Health staff sometimes use questionnaires, counting pills, pharmacy notes, or gadgets to estimate if people with HIV are taking their antiretroviral drugs. None of these approaches were reliable when compared to viral load testing, according to the authors of a new Cochrane review.

During June 2022, the CIDG published one new review, and two updated reviews in Issue 6, 2022 of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

What is the aim of this review?This review summarizes randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (studies where participants are randomly assigned to one of two or more treatment groups) and non‐randomized trials (non‐RCTs) evaluating the effect of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions on preventing soil‐transmitted helminth infections. 

What is the aim of this review?The aim of this Cochrane Review was to find out if the antimalarial drug pyronaridine‐artesunate is effective and safe in treating uncomplicated cases of an important type of malaria (Plasmodium falciparum). We collected and analysed all relevant studies to answer this question and found 10 studies.