TB and Other Pulmonary Complications of AIDS Research Training Program

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Summary The proposed Yale School of Public Health–University of California Berkeley–Makerere University Pulmonary Complications of AIDS Research Training (PART) Program will support scientific and career development for medical doctors, scientists, laboratory technicians, and other research support personnel at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MAKCHS). The proposed training program, which builds on a >20-year history of collaboration in HIV/AIDS-related research and training between these institutions, will target junior investigators who are based at MAKCHS or affiliated non-governmental organizations and aspire to careers in patient-oriented research. The current renewal seeks to enhance opportunities in translational and implementation research, which have been identified by Ugandan and U.S. investigators as a critical under- represented need in Makerere's efforts to become an internationally recognized center of excellence for HIV- related lung disease research. By offering didactic training and practical research experiences with established HIV/AIDS investigators in externally funded projects, the program will prepare individuals from diverse professional backgrounds to contribute to translational and implementation research teams. This team-building strategy represents an efficient and forward-thinking approach to advancing research in the important, under- studied, and inherently inter-disciplinary content areas of TB and other pulmonary complications of HIV. Trainees will be enrolled in master's and doctoral degree programs and pre-doctoral research fellowships at MAKCHS, with their training supplemented by online coursework at external partner institutions, short international training visits for advanced courses and intensive laboratory experiences not available at MAKCHS. We will also offer advanced workshops and fellowships in implementation science in an executive- style educational format designed to accommodate busy junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and public health specialists working with implementing partners. All trainees will receive scientific and career mentoring through an individual research advisory committee and regular meetings with the program directors. The result of the training program will be an increase in the capacity of MAKCHS for conducting high-quality, locally relevant, and internationally recognized research on TB and other pulmonary complications of HIV. In turn, this will help improve HIV/AIDS outcomes in Uganda and other high-burden countries and develop the next generation of researchers.