# Sustainable Research Training and Capacity Building in Liberia for Emerging Viral Epidemics

> **NIH NIH D71** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2020 · $21,600

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Liberia, a resource rich but economically poor country, continues to struggle with growth and recovery following
its 14-year civil war that destroyed its infrastructure. During the recent Ebola virus (EBOV) epidemic, Liberia
had fewer than 100 physicians and needed help from the international community for its control. The
assistance Liberia received largely improved physical resources (e.g., laboratory equipment and containment
facilities), but did not significantly increase human resources. Today, the healthcare workforce has only ~25%
of the nurses, midwives, and pharmacists, and 9% of the physicians the country needs. For Liberia to develop
sustainable research capacity for early identification and control of emerging viral diseases with the potential
for regional and global pandemics, Liberia needs a mechanism to garner students’ interest, and a continuous
supply of university-educated students graduating with current knowledge on viruses, epidemiology and how to
conduct research. The University of Liberia (UL) is the largest government supported institution in Liberia, and
its College of Science and Technology awards Bachelor of Science degrees to students who wish to enter the
health professions. Also, UL’s College of Medicine and Tubman Institute of Medicinal Arts train physicians and
nurses, respectively. In 2015, UL conducted a needs assessment and developed a strategic academic plan. In
response to this plan, faculty in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology,
University of Hawai’i (UH), and the University of Yaoundé 1 (UY) propose to partner with faculty at UL to
establish a creative training program with the goal of garnering interest and improving teaching and student
learning experience in biomedical sciences at UL, and providing training in the conduct of research on
emerging viral epidemics. The planning process has 12 steps: 1) devise a career development plan for faculty;
2) determine how to strengthen the curriculum in virology, emerging epidemic diseases, and research; 3)
assess feasibility of long-distance learning between UL and UH; 4) evaluate the possibility of introducing a
laboratory-based course entitled “Research on Emerging Epidemic Viruses,” into the curriculum; 5) identify
opportunities for students to participate in in-country mentored research projects; 6) investigate other activities
for inclusion in a training grant; 7) explore training of Liberian students in Hawai’i; 8) establish south-south
academic and research collaboration; 9) identify a method for selecting students for training; 10) assess needs
for specific skilled personnel in the Liberian healthcare workforce; 11) identify individuals with multi-disciplinary
backgrounds to serve on a Training Advisory Group; and 12) write a D43 application. The ten-person planning
committee consists of UL, UH and UY faculty who are teacher-scholars, and their D71 planning efforts are
supported by a larger gr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10168953
- **Project number:** 3D71TW010434-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** VIVEK Ramchandra NERURKAR
- **Activity code:** D71 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $21,600
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10168953

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10168953, Sustainable Research Training and Capacity Building in Liberia for Emerging Viral Epidemics (3D71TW010434-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10168953. Licensed CC0.

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