Global Infectious Diseases Research Training Program

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ABSTRACT The University of the West Indies Mona Campus and the Ministry of Health, Jamaica have identified the goal of establishing a Virology Research Program as one of the highest national health priorities. The program will require training basic, translational and clinical scientists and this will be the responsibility of the Global Infectious Diseases Research Training Program described in this application. The Global Infectious Diseases Research Training Program mentoring program was developed during a three-year planning period and will be led by faculty from the University at Buffalo, Upstate Medical University and the University of the West Indies. Training will focus on candidates at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus who are enrolled in Master's, PhD, and post-doctoral programs. Specific aims include: 1) Create a core of young investigators by providing a “value added” research training based on a mentored curriculum and core laboratory experiences that jointly emphasize research design, methods and analytic techniques to address virology research questions that confront Jamaica, 2) Provide an integrated mentoring program that fosters innovative research and enhances the trainees' ability to conceptualize and think through research problems with increasing independence and 3) Develop future research leaders in virology who will establish extramurally funded research programs and mentor the next generation of graduate students and fellows. The training objective is to develop 15 independent researchers with expertise in one or more of these areas: arbovirology, viral hepatitis, chronic viral infection, antiviral drug development, bioinformatics, and laboratory sciences. This objective will be accomplished by a collaborative approach to mentoring, a customized curricula based on each trainee's individualized development plan and a Virology Research Skills Toolbox. Trainees will have short-term periods in US laboratories directed by faculty mentors with extensive experience in virology, immunology and pharmacology research while completing their research at the University of the West Indies resulting in capacity building and an independent virology research team. The proposed GIDRTP will address important public health challenges related to viral disease and be consistent with current plans for achieving sustainable development goals related to health in Jamaica.