New NIH Research Training Program in HIV Clinical Investigation in Mwanza, Tanzania

This November, 8 Tanzanian trainees were enrolled into the newly-founded, 5-year NIH Research Training Program which is built on collaborations among the Mwanza Intervention Unit (MITU), Weill Cornell Medical College and the Weill Bugando School of Medicine. This research training program is directed by the Director of the Center for Global Health at WCM, Dr. Daniel Fitzgerald, MD, the Scientific Director of MITU, Dr. Saidi Kapiga, MD, ScD, and the Associate Director of Research at Weill Bugando, Dr. Benson Kidenya, MD, PhD. Trainings will primarily be based at MITU, a unit of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Tanzania, which collaborates with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The research training program focuses on training physician scientists and clinicians in patient-oriented HIV clinical investigation and has 2 primary goals. First, the program aims to expand institutional capacity for HIV investigation by increasing the number of clinical investigators at MITU. It will also establish MITU as a sustainable training center for HIV clinical investigation. By achieving these primary goals, the research training program hopes to further prevent new HIV infections, provide effective HIV prevention and care, and improve HIV outcomes in Tanzania and East Africa.

Through the program, research trainees will be afforded the opportunity to participate in 17 on-going HIV research projects (focused on HIV prevention and vaccine research, implementation of HIV testing and treatment, women’s health, HIV related co-infections, or co-occurring HIV and cardiovascular disease) and leadership workshops, and graduate with either a PhD or MS degree through the Weill Bugando School of Medicine. Additionally, this training program aims to strengthen the PhD program in clinical investigation at Weill Bugando by introducing 4 new graduate courses. At the end of the training program, MITU will successfully be established as a training center for HIV clinical investigators in East Africa. Finally, in an effort to create opportunities for advancement and development  for investigators,  4 of the top PhD graduates will receive 2 additional years of post-doctoral funding and training, primarily focused on grant writing, as clinical scientists at MITU.