TB/MDR-TB Research training and Capacity Strengthening for LMIC in Southeast Asia Phase II: Promotion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

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Project Summary/Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) is still an overwhelming infectious in Southeast Asia, especially in remote geographical areas and among the minority ethnic group due to socio-economic constraints. Based on " Administrative Supplements to Fogarty International Center's (FIC) Training Grants to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) diversity (NOT-TW-23-006)", there is a need to provide opportunity for under-represented group to join research career. Researchers who are from this disadvantage group are few due to inequity in opportunity in higher education in LMICs (Low- and Middle-income Countries). The current proposal is prepared to serve this purpose. Our parental project " TB/MDR-TB Research training and Capacity Strengthening for LMIC in Southeast Asia " D43TW009522 is based in Southern Thailand and includes provinces of Sumatra Island of Indonesia. Both areas have minority ethnic groups with poor access to scientific research education. Given that our training program has successful records in training new TB scientists to serve the areas, our program is in good position to expand the opportunity to these under-represented group by provide them with training on TB research. Here we have two target groups in these two countries. The first group is a small group of Muslim women who are faculty members of Faculty of Science and Technology, Pattani Campus of PSU. They hold PhD degrees and teach statistics but have only little exposure to the modern sciences of tuberculosis, especially Bioinformatics and other bio-medical data sciences. The specific aims for training of this group include enhancing the trainees' understanding in Bioinformatics and other related bio-medical data sciences to enable them to participate in ongoing TB research activities. Training of these two scientists from the under-representative group will lead to more diversification of TB scientists for Thailand, who work in the under-privileged region of the country. The training sites include Faculty of Medicine of PSU, Hatyai Campus and Faculty of Science and Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, Bangkok. The trainees will spend 4 weeks at each site followed by research activities at their home institution. The second target research trainees are young university bachelor graduates from Sumatra Indonesia who are from communities of minority ethnic groups. They are working with PSU alumni in Indonesia who are leading TB laboratory researchers in Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) of North Sumatra and Discipline of Statistics of Universitas Syiah Kuala (SKU) of Aceh Province of Indonesia. The training will be arranged at each university followed by involvement of the trainees on local TB research activities. At the end of the year, all trainees will have debriefing and summary activities at the Department of Epidemiology, PSU, which is the main training site of the current D43 grant) for one week.