# Research Training in Data Science for Health in Rwanda

> **NIH NIH U2R** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $349,999

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
U2R Research Training Program (RTP) grant application for DS-I Africa initiative (RFA-RM-20-016) is a
partnership of 3 collaborating institutions: Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), University of Rwanda
(UR) and African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), both in Kigali, Rwanda. The overarching objective
of U2R RTP is to stimulate and catalyze innovation of Data Science (DS) for Health in Rwanda. A high
prevalence of communicable diseases, coupled with a rapidly expanding epidemic of non-communicable
diseases (NCDs), forecasts a perfect public health storm in Rwanda, providing impetus and rationale to leverage
DS to address health care gaps. A structured program design will help develop trainee research careers in
DS with particular focus on health care topics relevant to Rwanda, including communicable (i.e., HIV,
malaria, COVID-19, etc) and chronic NCDs (i.e., hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, etc). We propose to
expand existing model curriculum for innovative and interdisciplinary DS for Health research training and practice
by identifying additional competencies in three major scientific areas: 1) computer science & informatics; 2)
statistics & mathematics; and 3) biomedical sciences & public health. U2R RTP will: a) provide support
(tuition, stipend, research funds) for 24 trainees: MS (n=14), PhD (n=6); post-doc (n=2); junior faculty (n=2);
each trainee receives training for 1-2 years based on individual needs; b) foster an innovative team science
transdisciplinary approach to research; and c) build institutional capacity at UR and AIMS to support the long-
term sustainability of the program. The intended outcomes are to: 1) train next generation of data scientists
that will have the necessary expertise to solve challenging problems presented by the burden of communicable
and chronic NCDs in Rwanda; and 2) complete a full U2R program leadership and faculty and institutional
transition from US-Rwanda co-led to fully Rwandan-led by the end of the U2R program. Trainees will participate
in mandatory week long “boot camps” (twice/yr), monthly webinars and mid-yr mtg with didactic training focused
on career advice, research and academic advancement in highly-relevant Data Science and health care topics
(i.e., data management, bioinformatics, statistics, epidemiology, communicable diseases, NCDs, environmental
exposure, dissemination and implementation, etc); intense Grant & Manuscript Writing Skills Training
Program geared towards development of competitive grant proposals (“Small Research Projects, SRP)” that
trainees prepare, submit and conduct under direction of a multidisciplinary mentoring team from academic and
governmental institutions. Effective mentoring during boot camp occurs through trainee “Group Brainstorming
Sessions” where they present their developing SRPs to obtain feedback. An extensive program evaluation by
trainees and faculty will also provide feedback for improvement. The U2R RT...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10320162
- **Project number:** 1U2RTW012122-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Victor G. Davila-Roman
- **Activity code:** U2R (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $349,999
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-22 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10320162

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10320162, Research Training in Data Science for Health in Rwanda (1U2RTW012122-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10320162. Licensed CC0.

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