GH21-003, Advancing Public Health Research in Kenya

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SUMMARY (ADMINISTRATIVE CORE) Our Consortium consisting of Washington State University (WSU), the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) proposes to support KEMRI to develop and manage a highly cost-effective and sustainable KEMRI/CGHR Research Platform (KRP) in western Kenya (under “Category 1. Research Coordination and Administration” of the administrative core). The platform includes the population-based health and demographic surveillance systems, laboratories in Kisumu and Nairobi, clinical research centers in Kisumu, and offices and shared services at the Kisian campus, Kisumu. Between 2014 and 2020, KRP’s day-to-day management was changed three times to make it more efficient, transparent, affordable, and less contentious with KEMRI, CDC, and other partners. Currently, the platform is managed by KEMRI, with CDC (through its partners) contributing financially together with the other international partners who share the platform. WSU and LSTM have an excellent relationship with KEMRI and its partners and many years of administrative and technical expertise in Kenya. Following extensive discussions and agreements leading up to this joint application, WSU, LSTM, and KEMRI central leadership will support KEMRI/CGHR to implement a management plan to strengthen the Center’s capacity to assume cost-effective and sustainable management of the platform in support of their public health research in Kenya. This will include a phased introduction of financial and administrative management systems, mutually agreed systems for cost-sharing across all national and international partners sharing the facilities, close fiscal oversight by WSU, and mentorship and training. KEMRI has already taken critical steps to streamline the platform’s management and strengthen its leadership, including the appointment of three senior staff at KEMRI/CGHR, the revision of policies to enhance decision-making at the Center level, and commitment to providing its share of financial support. It also includes the rolling out of an electronic system for the management of grant and ethics applications. As part of “Category 2. Research Laboratory Administration”, we will maintain accreditation standards, quality assurance processes, and integrated biosafety and biosecurity systems to support KEMRI state-of-the-art laboratories. We will also introduce a laboratory information management system, including for effective management of samples and associated data. The KEMRI laboratories recently demonstrated their utility to the country by providing >70% of the country’s testing capacity for COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we present evident technical expertise to lead the Research Core areas identified in the RFA, including HIV and TB, malaria, influenza, and other respiratory pathogens, zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, neglected tropical diseases, non-communicable diseases, and vaccine- preventable diseases. Experienced WSU and LSTM scientists will team up with KEMRI and CDC counterparts to design, implement, and publish research, an approach designed to train and mentor KEMRI scientists in applying and managing research funding. In the accompanying Research Core proposals, these teams describe field and laboratory activities that address each required outcome and objective of the RFA. Table 5 of this Administrative Core provides a work plan showing how each study will be implemented over the program’s 5-year duration.