Research Training in Infection and Neurodevelopment in Uganda

描述（由申请人提供）：在资源有限的国家，传染病是儿童健康不良的主要原因。在传染病存活下来的儿童和成人中，有相当一部分患有严重的长期神经发育疾病。感染相关的神经认知疾病非常重要，因为损伤会影响个人生活的方方面面，包括长期就业能力和社会交往。然而，撒哈拉以南非洲地区感染相关神经认知障碍的流行病学和发病机制仍然知之甚少。我们建议对乌干达的传染病培训采取一种创新方法，将重点放在这一极其重要但研究不足的领域。该提案的创新之处包括：强调与感染相关的长期发病率，来自多个学科和各个层次的学员的多样化组合，所有学位学生都需要的综合核心培训，以及作为培训计划的一部分，发展乌干达教师的指导能力。方案主任及其合作者的研究包括仔细评估脑型疟疾儿童和感染艾滋病毒的隐球菌性脑膜炎成人发生神经认知障碍的免疫学、流行病学和遗传风险因素。这些研究为培训感染相关神经认知障碍的发病机制提供了理想的基础。这项申请的目标是建立一个乌干达研究人员的核心，这些研究人员在与传染病相关的长期神经认知障碍的理解、预防和治疗方面取得了重大进展。我们建议通过长期和短期培训，以及通过发展教师指导能力来实现这一目标。长期培训将包括培养一名神经心理学博士后、两名神经心理学、微生物学、免疫学、流行病学和生物统计学博士生，以及培养两名住院医师进行医学硕士研究。短期培训将包括为项目和大学的医疗、实验室和数据人员提供讲习班和短期课程培训。将通过确定和实施马凯雷雷大学教师指导的最佳做法来发展指导能力。提出的这种新颖的培训将培养新一代跨学科的研究人员，他们可以一起工作来理解、治疗和预防乌干达与感染有关的神经认知疾病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Infectious diseases account for the majority of ill health in children in resource-limited countries. A substantial proportion of children and adults who survive infectious diseases suffer significant long-term neurodevelopmental morbidity. Infection-related neurocognitive morbidity is of great importance as impairments affect every aspect of an individual's life, including long-term employability and social interactions. However, the epidemiology and pathogenesis of infection-related neurocognitive impairment in sub-Saharan Africa remain poorly understood. We propose an innovative approach to infectious disease training in Uganda that will focus on this critically important but understudied area. Innovative aspects of this proposal include: emphasis on infection-related long-term morbidity, a diverse mix of trainees from multiple disciplines and at all levels, integrated core training that is required of all degree students, and development of mentorship capacity for Ugandan faculty as part of the training program. Studies by the Program Director and his collaborators involve careful assessment of immunologic, epidemiologic and genetic risk factors for the development of neurocognitive impairment in children with cerebral malaria and in HIV-infected adults with cryptococcal meningitis. These studies provide an ideal basis for training in the pathogenesis of infection-related neurocognitive impairment. The goal of this application is to establish a core of Ugandan researchers who significantly advance the understanding, prevention and treatment of long-term neurocognitive disability associated with infectious diseases. We propose to accomplish this goal through long and short-term training, and through development of capacity for faculty mentorship. Long-term training will include training of a post-doctoral fellow in neuropsychology, doctoral students in neuropsychology (two), and microbiology, immunology, epidemiology and biostatistics, and training of two medical residents in their Masters of Medicine research. Short-term training will involve providing workshop and short-course training for project and university medical, laboratory and data personnel. Mentorship capacity will be developed through identification and implementation of best practices for faculty mentorship at Makerere University. The novel training proposed will create a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers who can work together to understand, treat and prevent infection-related neurocognitive morbidity in Uganda. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In low and middle-income countries, many children and adults who survive infectious diseases suffer significant long-term injury to their brain that affects many processes like intelligence, language, speech and movement. Training doctors and scientists to discover why this is happening and to prevent it from happening could improve the lives of the millions of children and adults in low and middle-income countries who have infections that affect the brain.