# Biobehavioral Research Approaches to reduce Effects of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health and Cognitive Outcomes in South Africa

> **NIH NIH D43** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $269,359

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The UCLA/South African Trauma Training Research (Phodiso) Program seeks five additional years of
funding to prepare future investigators to conduct research on trauma exposure and injury prevention in the
context of South Africa's high levels of interpersonal and community violence and intentional injuries. The
Phodiso Program is an international collaboration between UCLA and the South African Research
Consortium (SARC), which includes the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), North-West
University (NWU), and University of Cape Town (UCT) and is based on a number of NIH-funded projects:
1) The Eban Project, a randomized clinical trial testing a culturally congruent intervention for HIV
serodiscordant African American couples (R01; 2001-2009; El Bassel, et al., 2010); 2) The
Implementation of the Eban Project, (NIH RO1; 2012-2017) 3) The Aftermath of Rape among South
African Women (The Fulufhelo Project), a study examining the short- and long-term psychosocial
sequelae of rape among South African women (R03; 2009-2013); and 4) The HIV/AIDS Substance use
and Trauma Training Program for racial and ethnic minority postdoctoral scholars and early career
investigators (R25; 2013-2018) (Wyatt and Milburn, co-PIs). Guided by ecological theory, social learning
theory, and the Sexual Health Model, the focus of the Phodiso Scholar's research will be to minimize the
negative health and mental health effects of trauma exposure, specifically depression and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), in South Africa. An additional emphasis of the training will focus on the
neurobiological and neurobehavioral manifestations of trauma, disease, substance use and intentional
injury. In the past 10 years of funding, a total of eleven scholars have graduated from the Phodiso program
and will join the core SARC and the TAMT, to assist with mentoring new Scholars. For this renewal, the
UCLA and SARC core faculty and TAMT will conduct a countrywide application process to select one early
career research candidate per year for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship. Scholars will receive research
mentorship including a quarter of study (i.e., a 3-month period) at UCLA, one selection and planning
meeting and one short-term trauma workshop each year in South Africa. Scholars will conduct their own
research projects in South Africa as a basis for future studies in this field, and work closely with their SARC
host university and TAMT mentors. The Phodiso Trauma Training program and the research careers of the
scholars will be tracked over time. Specifically, the sustainability of the training program and integration
into academic, private, and government-supported agencies and the Scholar's ability to establish and
sustain independent research careers will be evaluated and documented. Future goals will include
encouraging the South African government to adopt the Phodiso program as a successful and replicable
model of cross-cultural trauma research traini...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10013301
- **Project number:** 5D43TW007278-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** GAIL E. WYATT
- **Activity code:** D43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $269,359
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2005-05-25 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10013301

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10013301, Biobehavioral Research Approaches to reduce Effects of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health and Cognitive Outcomes in South Africa (5D43TW007278-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10013301. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*
