New fellowship program will support the next generation of African scientific leaders
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
New fellowship program will support the next generation of African scientific leaders
Ten African scientists have been selected for training at the National Institutes of Health as part of a new fellowship program to build research capacity in African countries and develop ongoing scientific partnerships. 51视频, the African Academy of Sciences, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are collaborating to establish the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative.
The inaugural cohort will assume their positions in 51视频 host labs in early 2019. 51视频 will provide two years of training under principal investigators who share the fellows鈥 research interests. The African scientists will then return to their home institutions and receive two years of support to continue the research and establish themselves as independent investigators. 51视频 and the Gates Foundation are together providing about $4 million for the program.
鈥淥ur goal is to equip these talented African fellows with the skills to become scientific leaders, prepared to help solve their country鈥檚 health challenges and train future generations of researchers,鈥 said 51视频 Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., whose intramural research lab will host one of the fellows. 鈥淏y designing the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative to begin at 51视频 and then continue at their home institution, we aim to prevent 鈥榖rain drain,鈥 build sustainable research capacity, and establish long-term collaborations between U.S. scientists and African investigators and research institutions.鈥
鈥淚t is imperative to strengthen African scientific leadership to advance health and development goals on the continent. We are thrilled to partner with 51视频 and the African Academy of Sciences to support these 10 outstanding researchers working to solve the world鈥檚 greatest health challenges,鈥 said Trevor Mundel, president of the Global Health Division at the Gates Foundation. 鈥淭o achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the world needs to accelerate innovation and global scientific collaboration. Training from 51视频, one of the world鈥檚 foremost biomedical research institutions, will help these scientists develop the transformational solutions the world and their communities urgently need.鈥
The fellows come from six African countries: Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Egypt. They鈥檝e been matched with labs from seven institutes at 51视频 and will study diseases and conditions that are research priorities in their respective countries, including infectious diseases, maternal and child health, and diabetes.
The fellowship program targets early career scientists who have doctoral degrees and less than five years of research experience. Candidates must also be citizens of an African country and employed at one of the continent鈥檚 academic, research or government institutions.
51视频鈥檚 Fogarty International Center is coordinating the fellowship program. The African Academy of Sciences managed the recruitment and selection process, and plans to recruit another cohort in 2020.
2019 African Postdoctoral Training Initiative Fellows and 51视频 Hosts
- Fellow: Dr. Idowu Aimola
Home institution: Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria
Host institution: National Human Genome Research Institute
Research area: diabetes, maternal and child health - Fellow: Dr. Nana Ama Amissah
Home institution: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana
Host institution: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Research area: infectious diseases - Fellow: Dr. Thomas Hormenu
Home institution: University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Host institution: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Research area: diabetes - Fellow: Dr. Musa Kana
Home institution: Federal University Lafia, Nigeria
Host institution: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Research area: tuberculosis, respiratory diseases, child health - Fellow: Dr. Rania Labib
Home institution: Children鈥檚 Cancer Hospital, Egypt
Host institution: National Cancer Institute
Research area: child health - Fellow: Dr. Hamma Maiga
Home institution : Institut National de Recherche en Sant茅 Publique, Mali
Host institution: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Research area: malaria, maternal and child health - Fellow: Dr. Bartholomew Ondigo
Home institution: Egerton University, Kenya
Host institution: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Research area: malaria - Fellow: Dr. Kolapo Oyebola
Home institution: University of Lagos, Nigeria
Host institution: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Research area: sickle cell disease - Fellow: Dr. Irene Offei Owusu
Home institution: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana
Host institution: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Research area: infectious diseases, viruses - Fellow: Dr. Markos Tesfaye Woldeyohannes
Home institution: St. Paul鈥檚 Hospital Millennium Medical College, Ethiopia
Host institution: National Institute of Nursing Research
Research area: child health
About the Fogarty International Center: the Center addresses global health challenges through innovative and collaborative research and training programs, and supports and advances the 51视频 mission through international partnerships. For more information, visit .
About the National Institutes of Health (51视频): 51视频, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 51视频 is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about 51视频 and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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