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Fogarty awards new infectious disease research training grants

May 22, 2014

Group of researchers in lab coats, one seated inserts samples into vials, three others observe
Photo by Richard Lord for Fogarty/NIH

Fogarty's GID program has funded a new project at
Boston Medical Center and Makerere University in
Uganda, offering research training on immunology,
inflammation, pathogenesis, bioinformatics, emerging
viral pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.

To enhance infectious disease research training in low- and middle-income countries, NIH has awarded grants totaling $5.2 million to five institutions. Funding from Fogarty's Global Infectious Disease Research Training (GID) program will provide five years of support to new and ongoing projects in Colombia, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda.

"Infectious diseases still exact a brutal toll in developing countries," said Fogarty Director Dr. Roger I. Glass. "These new grants will help lessen the impact of deadly pathogens, and provide opportunities to train researchers and clinicians to address them in novel ways."

Boston Medical Center's grant will help to establish a new project with Makerere University in Uganda that offers translational research training on immunology, inflammation, pathogenesis, bioinformatics on tuberculosis, emerging viral pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. The initiative will enable five postdoctoral faculty members from Makerere to obtain master's degrees in pathology at Boston University, followed by two years of basic research training.

A renewal award going to Harvard School of Public Health will support an ongoing collaboration with Muhimbili University in Tanzania focused on training in pediatric diarrheal disease, acute respiratory disease and nutrition. Pennsylvania State University will use its grant to continue a partnership with Mahidol University in Thailand that provides long-term research training in malaria epidemiology in the Mekong region.

The University of Virginia will use its renewal funding to transfer an existing research training platform based in Brazil to the University of Venda, South Africa, with the goal of educating trainees in molecular genetics, diagnostics, epidemiology and cognitive function assessment of children with enteric infections. Finally, an award going to Yale University will provide renewal funds for a program in Colombia that specializes in translational research training on leishmaniasis and other emerging infectious diseases.

The GID program builds research capacity related to infectious diseases that are endemic in developing countries. The projects funded feature a variety of training options tailored to match the needs of the host country institutions.

2014 Global Infectious Disease Research Training Awards

Boston Medical Center
Training of Ugandans in Basic Research on TB and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Principal Investigators: Dr. Jerrold Ellner and Dr. Moses Joloba

Harvard School of Public Health
Tanzania Infectious Disease Research Training Program
Principal Investigator: Dr. Wafaie Fawzi

Pennsylvania State University
Enhancing Vivax Malaria Research in Thailand
Principal Investigator: Dr. Liwang Cui

University of Virginia
Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program at UVA
Principal Investigator: Dr. Richard Guerrant

Yale University
Translational Research Training on Leishmaniasis and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Principal Investigators: Dr. Diane McMahon-Pratt and Dr. Nancy Saravia

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