Malaria at the Mother-child Interface

描述（由申请人提供）：孕妇和儿童是最容易感染疟疾的群体，每年有100万儿童直接死于疟疾。在疟疾流行地区，妊娠期疟疾在低体重分娩中占很大比例，因此间接导致婴儿期死亡人数增加。我们的广泛目标是在坦桑尼亚建立一个卓越中心，重点关注孕妇和儿童的疟疾，重点是研究和干预。这项建议是与一项全球网络研究单位奖申请一起提交的，该研究单位奖将支持母婴接触方面的疟疾研究。我们在这一建议中的具体目标是：⑴在坦桑尼亚建立技术基础，以支持孕产妇和幼儿生物医学研究; ⑵提供热带卫生和孕产妇/儿童卫生方面的医疗技术人员、硕士、博士和博士后培训; 3）每年为学生举办一次讲习班，来自东非地区的科学家和临床医生，将重点关注孕妇和儿童的疟疾，重点是药物治疗，研究伦理和最新的科学进展。我们打算在坦桑尼亚中心内发展设施和科学专门知识，以便今后在区域和国际上就妇幼保健问题进行合作研究。我们预计，该中心将成为一个重要的区域资产，用于科学网络，制定有关妇女和儿童预防和治疗的公共卫生政策，以及干预性研究的场所，包括研究行为措施（如母乳喂养）和疫苗，可以降低这些脆弱人群的疟疾发病率和死亡率。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pregnant women and children are the groups most susceptible to malaria, which directly kills 1 million children each year. Pregnancy malaria accounts for a large proportion of low birth weight deliveries in endemic areas, and therefore indirectly contributes to an untold number of additional deaths during infancy. Our broad objective is to establish a center of excellence in Tanzania to focus on malaria of pregnant women and children, with an emphasis on research and intervention. This proposal is submitted in conjunction with an application for a Global Network Research Unit Award that will support studies of malaria at the mother-child interface. Our specific aims in this proposal will be: 1) establish the technical base within Tanzania to support maternal and early childhood biomedical research; 2) provide training at the medical technologist, MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral levels in tropical health and maternal/child health; 3) institute a yearly workshop for students, scientists and clinicians from the East African region that will focus on malaria in pregnant women and children, with an emphasis on drug treatment, research ethics, and recent scientific advances. We intend to develop facilities and scientific expertise within the Tanzanian center that will allow future collaborative research on maternal and child health issues, both regional and international. We anticipate that this center will become an important regional asset for scientific networking, formulation of public health policy regarding prophylaxis and treatment of women and children, and a site for interventional studies, including research into behavioral measures (eg, breastfeeding) and vaccines that may reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in these vulnerable populations.