New York University-University of Ghana Research Integrity Training Program (NYU-UG RITP)

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Project Summary The proposed program will continue to build sustainable research ethics and integrity capacity in Ghana through a joint partnership between New York University Grossman School of Medicine (NYU GSOM) and University of Ghana School of Public Health (UG SPH). The NYU-UG Research Integrity Training Program (NYU-UG RITP) addresses the considerable need for research ethics and integrity training through three initiatives: (1) the strengthening of faculty and enhancement of curriculum at the new MSc. in Bioethics Program at UG SPH through a faculty exchange program, faculty development workshops, co-development and co-delivery of a series of short courses on emerging bioethics issues, support for advanced study, mentoring, co-teaching of MSc. courses, and annual program evaluations, all aiming to ensure the program’s self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability; (2) the development and implementation of a capacity building program consisting of short courses and workshops informed by needs assessments and designed to meet the most urgent and important training needs of personnel at key institutions in Ghana’s research ethics system; and (3) the continuation and expansion of the NYU-UG Fellowship Program in Research Integrity (a) to provide 24 fellows with master’s-level certificates in research ethics to populate local research regulatory and educational systems, and (b) to provide mentoring and career development opportunities to Fellowship graduates, including fellows from NYU-UG RITP’s first phase. We will expand our Fellowship Program’s impact by enrolling trainees from Liberia and Sierra Leone and by facilitating the emergence of the West Africa Research Ethics Network (WAREN), whose members will include graduates of our program and of Fogarty training programs in the West Africa subregion (e.g., Nigeria, The Gambia). Our Fellowship Program will train 2 cohorts of 12 fellows, each cohort comprising 6 trainees from Ghana, 3 from Liberia, and 3 from Sierra Leone. Six outstanding fellows will enroll in the UG SPH program, preparing them to join that program as faculty or to lead future training programs in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Fellows will be selected from researchers who have completed MDs or master’s or doctoral degrees in relevant fields so that the training can build upon their expertise and experience with research methods and local health needs. The one-year Fellowship Program will offer intensive courses in the history and philosophy of research ethics, research integrity, and developing a collaborative research output. Fellows will also complete a practicum experience in the ethical review of research or a mentored collaborative research project on an issue in research ethics or integrity of special importance in the local context. Courses will be co-developed and co-delivered by expert faculty from NYU GSOM and UG SPH. UG SPH faculty will contextualize the curriculum to ensure its cultural relevance. Graduates will contribute to the bioethics literature studies of research ethics and bioethics issues of special significance in Ghana and the subregion, contributions that are essential to reframing discussions of international research ethics and including LMIC-based researchers’ priorities and perspectives.