# Developmental Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER · 2024 · $131,115

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Human resource capacity building and training are urgently needed to establish a sustainable research
enterprise that will improve prevention, diagnosis, connection to care, basic mechanistic understanding, and
treatment of neoplastic diseases, like Kaposi sarcoma (KS) that continue to affect people living with HIV
(PLWH), despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). The combined expertise of our team, coupled with our
ongoing D43 cancer research and training programs with CDH/UTH and ORCI, will bolster the continued
development of CDH/UTH and ORCI research on KS and other HIV associated malignancies, while promoting
inter-African research networking. It will also provide opportunities for U.S. oncology, infectious disease, and
public health fellows interested in a research career in global health to gain essential experience in the LMIC
setting and develop research collaborations. To further enhance cancer research infrastructure in Tanzania
and Zambia, and specifically focus on KS, the “KS in the Era of ART in Africa Program (KEAAP)” proposes to
establish a network comprised of LSUHSC-NO, CDH/UTH, and ORCI that is focused on implementation
science, immunology, and histopathology of KS in PLWH. The goal of the Career Developmental Core is to
provide mentoring and training activities that will support the research, career, and leadership development of
promising investigators at ORCI and CDH/UTH as well as early-career clinical researchers from the United
States. This goal will be achieved by 1) implementing a mentored pilot research project program to support
scientifically meritorious projects led by junior investigators in Tanzania, Zambia, and the United States; 2)
expanding peer-to-peer mentoring and career development programs between CDH/UTH, ORCI, and
LSUHSC-NO; and 3) providing in-country courses, workshops, and cross-training between UTH and ORCI,
focused on targeted research skills and professional development needs of early-stage investigators. Through
these research and capacity building activities, KEAAP will foster an integrated mentoring approach, utilizing
faculty from all involved institutions to serve as a resource for consortium trainees. KEAAP will encourage
peer-peer networking among researchers through in-person and web-hosted training. KEAAP will develop a
next-generation of researchers, mentors, and trainers who are anticipated to collaborate in, develop and cross-
pollinate other’s research and training efforts that promote the development of increasingly more effective
research networks for Sub-Saharan Africa/US collaborations focused on improving health outcomes for PLWH.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10909009
- **Project number:** 5U54CA277846-02
- **Recipient organization:** LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** John T. West
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $131,115
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10909009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10909009, Developmental Core (5U54CA277846-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10909009. Licensed CC0.

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