Training Program for Strengthening Research Capacity in Non-Communicable Diseases in Vietnam (TSORC-NCDs-VN)

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We are proposing a 5 year training program entitled ““Training Program for Strengthening Research Capacity in Non-Communicable Diseases in Vietnam.” Vietnam has been facing an increasing burden from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) over the last several decades, with especially notable increases in the morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes; CVD now represents the leading cause of death in Vietnam, accounting for approximately one third of all deaths. Despite the magnitude and impact of NCDs, research capacity in NCDs in Vietnam is still limited and faces numerous challenges. Vietnam urgently needs to strengthen its research capacity in the clinical and population health sciences and develop research training programs that emphasize innovative strategies for disease prevention. As a starting point to address this ongoing need, our multi-disciplinary team received support from the NIH Fogarty Center to engage in an intensive needs assessment and planning process during the past year. The proposed training programs and educational offerings, and the accompanying mentored research experiences, flow from a broad-based and detailed data collection and synthesis that engaged faculty and students at Hanoi Medical University (HMU) and key partners from the Vietnam Ministry of Health. The proposed training program is built upon a robust and rapidly expanding program of extramurally funded research, with joint leadership from Vietnam and University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) investigators. The planning process has also been critically informed by several currently NIH-funded UMMS training programs including T32 and KL2. Our Specific Aims are to: Aim 1. Develop a research and training program in Non-Communicable Diseases that fits Vietnam's needs and resources as articulated by the Vietnam Ministry of Health: (a) Establish a new Postdoctoral Fellowship program that will equip early-stage investigators to establish themselves as independent, extramurally funded scientists; (b) Establish a new Clinical Research Scholars Training Program that will provide clinicians with the research tools necessary to leverage their clinical training and experience to design and carry out high quality research studies that address pressing problems in clinical and population health, with an emphasis on national policy relevance and publication in international journals; (c) Based on models that have been successfully implemented at the UMMS, develop new research methods courses that would be offered to non-degree and degree students and would be made available to students, physicians, nurses, and clinical investigators. Aim 2. Establish a Center of Excellence in Non-Communicable Diseases Research at HMU: (a) Building upon formal recommendations issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health as part of the year-long planning process, inaugurate the newly proposed Center of Excellence with strong institutional commitments of HMU and HMU hospital; (b) Implement an administrative structure that will allow the center to provide easily accessible resources for research methodology and data management, enable transdisciplinary relationships across departments, institutes, centers, and the clinical system, and provide linkages and critical support for longitudinal mentoring relationships among program trainees; (c) Solidify collaboration with the Vietnam Ministry of Health to align the research agenda and training approach with contemporary needs in CVD prevention and treatment to support the national implementation of evidence-based policy measures. Our international multi-disciplinary team has expertise in designing and conducting clinical and population-based research studies and in developing successful research training programs. Our team includes high-ranking and accomplished scientists from the Vietnam Ministry of Health who are serving in leadership roles as part of our current NIH funded work. For several currently NIH funded clinical trials, the Ministry of Health has formally committed to sustaining newly developed and proven interventions as part of the national public health infrastructure. The environment and resources offered by this proposal provide an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen research capacity in NCD research with a measurable health impact at the national level.