"Developing Research Leaders at the Intersection of Malnutrition and Tuberculosis in Tanzania"
A joint programme of the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute-Tanzania, and The University of Virginia – United States, along with many other partners.
Tuberculosis is the leading killer from a curable infectious disease. COVID-19 has further disrupted TB care and is projected to increase death from TB by 20% over the next five years. Malnutrition, both undernutrition and poor nutrition leading to condition such as diabetes mellitus, is the most important driver of TB diseases globally. The Global Infectious Diseases Research Training Programme (GIDRTP) aims to strengthen existing educational and research linkages with the University of Virginia and the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute in Tanzania to support Tanzania postdoctoral trainees’ growth to research leaders working at the intersection of malnutrition and TB.
The GIDRTP aims to train 6 postdoctoral scientists with each supported for a maximum of 3 years from 2022 through 2027. Each postdoctoral will have individualized research leadership plan based on the framework of the Path to Research Leadership in Africa Report of 2020 and will be matched to Tanzanian and UVA mentors. The individualized research leadership plan will include assessment by Lead Educators and core programmatic faculty including a biostatistician to design personalized coursework and skills building toward the metric categories of research team management, communication, grant writing, professionalism and career trajectory.
The programme leverages the current infrastructure of funding from the National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, European and Developing Countries Trials Partnership, World Health Organization and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for TB and malnutrition research in Tanzania. Likewise, the programme expects to launch the careers of junior scientists and content leaders that will compete for independent funding, set research agendas, make policy and benefit their communities in line with the World Health Organization’s End TB Strategy.
