Infectious Diseases in Africa (IDA) Training Symposium for Next Gen Scientists

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R13 · $50,000 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Abstract. The heavy burden of communicable diseases on the African continent is largely made up of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. This trio of diseases alone is creating societal and economic instability in most African countries across all age groups, and particularly in children. Most recent estimates by UNAIDS of the global burden of HIV are that 39 million people are currently living with HIV- 1 infection, 25.6 million of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The implementation of anti-retroviral therapy for people living with HIV (PLWH) comes with complications of costs and iatrogenic effects of drugs, and it is not a long-term solution to stop the epidemic in SSA. HIV prevention remains critical to turn the tide of HIV infections and an effective vaccine against HIV-1 is desperately needed. More recently, passive immunization clinical trials have explored infusion of broadly neutralizing antibodies as an alternative HIV infection prevention strategy to pre-exposure prophylaxis with anti-retroviral drugs. Similar, new and innovative efforts are required to develop prevention strategies that would mitigate the HIV-1 co-morbidities of TB and malaria. In accordance with the 2019 NIH NOT-OD-20-018 and PA21-151 that support research training of the workforce, in this application, we propose to train young scientists in Africa to fill the gap in ongoing efforts to build scientific literacy and skills for career development to the next generation of African scientists. As the NIH is sponsoring several basic research projects as well as clinical prevention trials in Africa, we believe that the proposed Infectious Disease in Africa: Training Symposium for the next generation of African scientists (IDA) will lead to increased scientific knowledge and will help building future scientific leaders on the continent. Building on the previous 11 IDA symposia, we now propose a further set of symposia, where the overarching aims are: 1) To provide cutting-edge knowledge in the fields of HIV passive immunization and vaccine development and implementation for malaria and TB prevention. 2) To provide events that can enhance career development of the next generation of African scientists, including grant writing, poster and oral presentation skills, networking and community engagement. The IDA training symposia will take place in Stellenbosch (Cape Town, South Africa) and each will leverage on the most recent reported results of the ongoing passive immunization and vaccine efficacy clinical trials for HIV-1, TB, and Malaria. Our efforts will comply with the selection of participants to respect gender balance, opportunity for minorities and inclusivity of diverse sexual orientations.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10921856
Project number
1R13AI184067-01
Recipient
DUKE UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
ERICA ANDERSEN-NISSEN
Activity code
R13
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$50,000
Award type
1
Project period
2024-03-05 → 2027-02-28