Training of Ugandans in Basic Research on TB and Emerging Infectious Diseases

简介（由申请人提供）：在过去十年中，位于乌干达坎帕拉的Makerere大学（MU）已成为全球结核病合作研究的主要学术机构之一。目前，美国国立卫生研究院、美国疾病控制与预防中心、盖茨基金会、威康信托基金会、英国医学研究理事会和欧洲与发展中国家临床试验伙伴关系为乌干达的结核病研究提供了大量支持，包括评估新的诊断方法；药物治疗方案；疫苗和免疫发病机制及相关因素的转化研究。国家卫生研究院支持流行病学培训；与艾滋病毒有关的免疫学和微生物学，而威康信托基金为热带病免疫学能力建设方案提供资金。尽管做出了这些努力，但结核病基础研究和转化研究方面的培训远远落后于迫切需要。例如，开发改进的结核病诊断、疫苗和疗法需要发现生物标志物。乌干达是生物标志物研究的一个领先站点，但是它依靠外籍科学家进行发展研究，而且经常依靠运送标本进行场外分析。随着在MU和乌干达其他地点发展先进的实验室基础设施，缺乏训练有素的独立乌干达科学家在MU进行基础和转化研究既不必要也不适当。该培训项目是由MU和波士顿大学（BU）的学术领导进行需求评估的产物。现在是时候为合格的乌干达科学家提供与美国研究生和博士后研究员同等的基础研究培训了。由于有越来越多的基础设施支持乌干达主导的独立研究，我们组织了这个项目，以便培训结束后，学员将作为学术教员返回MU，并将有机会在乌干达建立有关结核病和其他新发传染病的有价值的研究项目。该计划的目标是为解决MU当前和未来的需求而量身定制的。能力建设项目有助于填补需求评估中确定的空白，并解决MU医学院的优先发展目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the last decade, Makerere University (MU) in Kampala, Uganda, has become one of the principal academic institutions worldwide for collaborative research on TB. Currently NIH, CDC, Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, British Medical Research Council and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership provide substantial support to TB research in Uganda, including evaluation of new diagnostics; drug treatment regimens; vaccines and translational studies of pathogenesis and correlates of immunity. NIH has supported training in epidemiology; immunology and microbiology related to HIV, while Wellcome Trust funds a capacity-building program in the immunology of tropical diseases. Despite these efforts, training in basic and translational research on TB lags far behind the pressing need. For example, the development of improved TB diagnostics, vaccines and therapies requires the discovery of biomarkers. Uganda is a leading site for research on biomarkers but relies on expatriate scientists for developmental research and often on shipment of specimens for off-site analysis. With development of advanced laboratory infrastructure at MU and other sites in Uganda, the lack of well-trained independent Ugandan scientists conducting basic and translational research at MU is neither necessary nor appropriate. This training program is the product of a needs assessment by academic leaders of MU and Boston University (BU). It is time to provide basic research training to qualified Ugandan scientists equivalent to that available to American graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. As there is growing infrastructure to support independent Ugandan-led research, we have organized this program so that following training, trainees will return to MU as academic faculty and will have the opportunity to establish valuable research programs on tuberculosis and other emerging infectious diseases in Uganda. The Aims of this Program are tailored to address the current and future needs of MU. The capacity-building program helps fill the gaps identified in the needs assessment and addresses priority developmental goals of MU School of Medicine.