MEPI Scholars Program for Developing Research Capacity of Junior Faculty at Addis Ababa University

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The College of Health Science (CHS), Addis Ababa University (AAU) is submitting this application entitled, "MEPI Scholars Program for Developing Research Capacity of Junior Faculty at Addis Ababa University" with the goal of upgrading research capacity through creating cohorts of core faculty with specialized research skills and careers in four selected scientific disciplines (HIV/AIDS and related infections, maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases [e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular], and mental health) which are strategic components of the AAU CHS development plan. The main objectives of the training program are: to build core capacity in research through training of cohorts of junior faculty in selected priority scientific disciplines; to provide long-term didactic and mentored research and research training opportunities (2 years) to promising AAU junior faculty to advance their overall career development; and to continue to improve the research infrastructure and research support at CHS including the AAU Office of Research Administration (ORA) and strengthen graduate and certificate research training programs within the CHS. Four scientific areas are targeted in this application: HIV/AIDS and related infections, maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases [e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular], and mental health. These are topics that reflect priority health challenges in Ethiopia with need to train researchers who can conduct high quality research to fill in critical knowledge and implementation gaps. Research training in the selected four scientific topics will have synergistic effects within the overall development of research capacity at AAU as well as at the national level. The training design consists of didactic training and mentored research training and will be conducted primarily in-country, enhanced by semester-long distance learning courses developed during the first Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) cycle and a series of in-country short courses. The proposed program will include training in: research methods, grant writing, biostatistics and data management; ethics; and advanced trainings on content-specific subjects in the four scientific disciplines of focus. Mentorship will be provided by mentoring teams, which include a senior faculty member from CHS, and a mentor from a U.S. partner collaborating institution. This new program will therefore provide opportunities for hands-on and classroom-based research training by providing trainees with protected time, high quality didactics and mentored research training. It will address research capacity gaps including limited time, resources, and institutional capacity, and insufficient opportunities to work on relevant research, and is responsive to institutional needs, building upon existing efforts, and leveraging other ongoing training infrastructure and collaborations. Existing collaborations under the first cycle o MEPI will be further developed with Emory University as the primary training partner and Johns Hopkins University and University of Alabama providing advanced trainings and mentorship in focus area topics. The program aims to train a total of 24 junior faculty members: six trainees per scientific topic area. There will be a competitive and transparent process to select AAU junior faculty trainees for the program. Eligible participants will include both physician and PhD-level junior faculty at AAU who are committed to a research career. The duration of research training will be two years for each cohort and trainees will develop a hypothesis driven research proposal to be carried out under the guidance of their dual Ethiopian- U.S. mentoring team. A cohort of 8 junior faculty will be enrolled the first year and the third year and a cohort of 4 wil be enrolled in the third and fourth year. The program is also expected to enhance the research training and infrastructure of the institution to continue to train junior faculty and produce strog, sustainable interdisciplinary research teams that can address the priority health challenges of the nation.