HIV Research Training Program for Botswana

说明（由申请人提供）：宾夕法尼亚大学（宾夕法尼亚大学）与博茨瓦纳大学和卫生部合作，提出这一申请，培训一小批博茨瓦纳卫生专业人员进行艾滋病毒临床研究。研究将涉及以下问题：治疗艾滋病毒疾病和感染艾滋病毒的成人和儿童的合并感染、治疗感染艾滋病毒的成人的恶性肿瘤和与年龄有关的非传染性疾病、未感染儿童接触艾滋病毒的并发症以及减少高度接触未感染妇女的风险。该项目将作为催化剂，在博茨瓦纳建立一个扩大的研究小组，以解决博茨瓦纳卫生部确定的一些紧迫的卫生问题，这些问题与福格蒂计划和总统防治艾滋病紧急救援计划的议程一致。这项建议包括与宾夕法尼亚大学临床流行病学和生物统计学大型中心建立密切的工作关系，这将使博茨瓦纳的新研究单位从成立之日起就能在高度专业的水平上发挥作用。培训。培训将有两个途径。(1)独立调查员培训。巴茨瓦纳的学员将参加宾夕法尼亚大学临床流行病学理学硕士课程，第一年将在宾夕法尼亚大学学习课程，第二年将在博茨瓦纳进行一个研究项目。该项目计划在5年的时间里培养8名学员。受训者将与流行病学和生物统计学导师以及博茨瓦纳的临床和研究专家配对，为他们的智力发展和在追求新知识的过程中实际动手应用原则创造一个理想的环境。这些受训者最终将成为一个扩大的研究小组的核心，该小组将把博茨瓦纳大学和卫生部开展的艾滋病毒临床研究的质量和数量提高到一个新的水平。(2)副调查员培训。该途径将在博茨瓦纳为卫生管理人员、卫生临床医生和研究协调员提供一系列1至5天的模块。其目标是通过授权助理调查员加入由独立调查员学员领导的协作小组，在其当前和未来的研究项目中开展当地驱动的调查，从而建立国内能力。这些小组将采用一种创新的“反教”方法得到加强，这种方法将这些项目作为独立调查员实施教学技能的培训范例，并使副调查学员在项目中获得更多的知识。机构参与。拟议的培训方案将涉及博茨瓦纳的三个关键机构：博茨瓦纳大学卫生科学学院、博茨瓦纳卫生部和博茨瓦纳-宾夕法尼亚大学伙伴关系。研究人员将利用正在进行的联邦资助的博茨瓦纳-宾夕法尼亚大学伙伴关系项目来加快他们自己的研究项目的发展步伐。独立调查人员将在博茨瓦纳大学或卫生部任职，在那里他们将获得开展研究项目的支持时间，并将成为致力于艾滋病毒和相关疾病临床研究的扩大小组的核心。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Pennsylvania (Penn), in collaboration with the University of Botswana and the Ministry of Health, submits this application to train a small cadre of Batswana health professionals in HIV clinical research. Studies will address issues in treatment of HIV disease and co-infections in HIV- infected adults and children, treatment of malignancies and aging-related non-communicable diseases HIV infected adults, complications of HIV-exposure in uninfected children, and risk reduction in highly exposed uninfected women. This program will act as a catalytic agent to establish an extended research group in Botswana to address some of its pressing health problems identified by the Botswana Ministry of Health and which are consonant with the agendas of both Fogarty and PEPFAR. This proposal includes a close working relationship with the large Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Penn, which will enable the new research unit in Botswana to function at a highly professional level from its establishment. Training. The training will have tw pathways. (1) Independent Investigator training. Batswana trainees will enroll in Penn's Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) of which the first year will be spent on coursework at Penn and the second year on a research project in Botswana. The program aims to take 8 trainees over the 5-year program. Trainees will be paired with epidemiology and biostatistics mentors, and Botswana-based clinical and research experts to create an ideal environment for both their intellectual development and practical hand-on application of principles in the pursuit of new knowledge. These trainees will ultimately form the core of an extended research group, which will take the quality and quantity of clinical HIV research emanating from the University of Botswana and the Ministry of Health to a new level. (2) Associate Investigator training. This pathway will provide a series of 1- to 5-day modules to be conducted in Botswana, for health administrators, health clinicians, and research coordinators. The goal is to build in- country capacity to conduct locally driven investigation by empowering Associate Investigators to join collaborative teams led by the Independent Investigator trainees in their current and future research projects. These teams will be strengthened by an innovative "teach-back" approach in which the projects are used as training examples for the Independent Investigators to implement teaching skills and the Associate Investigator trainees to be become more intellectually vested in the projects. Institutional participation. The proposed training program will involve three key institutions in Botswana: the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Botswana, the Ministry of Health of Botswana, and the Botswana-UPenn Partnership. Investigators will leverage ongoing federally funded projects at the Botswana- UPenn Partnership to accelerate the pace of the development of their own research programs. Independent Investigators will take positions at either the University of Botswana or the Ministry of Health, where they will be guaranteed supported time to conduct research projects, and will form the nucleus of an extended group dedicated to research on HIV and associated diseases clinical research.