Regional Centre for Vector Borne Diseases in West Africa (RCVBD)

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PROJECT SUMMARY Although West Africa is currently burdened with an unprecedented high levels of malaria, the research capacity in Africa is too low to meet the malaria control and elimination goal. Furthermore, many new techniques and tools developed in the developed countries have not been well utilized by Africa scientists. For example, new tools in molecular population genetics, genomics and bioinformatics and disease modeling have not been integrated into malaria research and control in Africa. Low research capacity in West Africa is far more dire in comparison to other African regions. Therefore, there is an immediate need to strengthen the research capacity in infectious diseases in West Africa. We propose this Regional Centre for Vector Borne Diseases in West Africa (RCVBD) to enhance research capacity in malaria epidemiology and medical entomology through training PhD students and junior faculty and research scientists. The consortium partners are from three West African institutions (University of Ghana, The Medical Research Council Unit Gambia, and Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé of Burkina Faso). Collaborators from three US institutions (University of California at Irvine, University of New Mexico and the Northwestern University) will assist the training program. The overall goal of this training program is to enhance research capacity in West Africa by training the next generation of African scientists in the area of vector-borne disease research and control with a special focus on malaria. The thematic areas of training include epidemiology, medical entomology and application of new genetic, genomic and ecological research tools. We propose three tracks of training. Track 1 will be long-term training of 8 PhD students in West Africa. Track 2 will provide short- term research training to 15 junior university faculty and junior scientists from the Ministry of Health in West Africa to foster specific skills required for malaria research and control. Track 3 will be training workshops and short courses to disseminate techniques and knowledge to wide communities involved in vector borne disease research and control in West Africa. This training program will focus on four scientific areas in urgent need, including 1) new tools for malaria epidemiological and entomological surveillance, 2) antimalarial drug resistance to artemisinin and partner drugs, 3) population genomics of insecticide resistance, and 4) modeling malaria transmission dynamics and malaria intervention strategies. This research training program will help advance the careers of West African scientists by strengthening their academics and research productivity through vigorous mentorship and outstanding publications, equipping them with new knowledge and skills, and enhancing their collaborative opportunities with scientists within and out of Africa.