D43TW012493

Zambia Education Network for Implementation Science Training in Health (ZENITH) - Project Summary/Abstract

The nation of Zambia has a generalized HIV epidemic with adult prevalence of 11.0%, but now stands on the cusp of reaching HIV epidemic control. As the HIV epidemic evolves, Zambia needs to develop local implementation science capacity to address key and vulnerable populations for the last mile epidemic control.

To train this cadre of implementation scientists, we propose the Zambia Education Network for Implementation Science Training in Health (ZENITH), a partnership between University Teaching Hospital, the premier medical training site in Zambia, and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), an implementation partner with nearly 20 years of HIV capacity building and medical/technical assistance in Zambia.

The goal of ZENITH is to develop Zambian short, medium, and long-term implementation science capacity at UTH to address the unmet need of key and vulnerable populations towards attaining sustainable epidemic control.

Aim 1: We will build short-term, immediate research capacity by having 25 students (5 per year) participate in a new Implementation Science Institute (ISI) in Lusaka to learn basic approaches to implementation science research, including methods, biostatistics, qualitative methods, and introduction to grant & manuscript writing. This will be a one-month intensive course taught at UTH in January.

Aim 2: We will build medium-term research capacity by supporting 8 students (2 per year) via the two-year Master in Health Sciences (MHS) in Implementation & Dissemination Science at UMB. Virtual courses done online in Zambia.

Aim 3: We will build long-term independent research capacity by supporting 2 students for PhD studies at UMB, including epidemiology at UMB Graduate School, and qualitative social science. It is expected that PhD mentees will take over the ISI by end of the project.

All trainees will be supported by one-on-one mentor meetings, using a twinned mentor model whereby senior and junior mentors co-supervise the mentee, which will also build mentorship capacity in local junior mentors.

Building on Zambia's deep experience with using ECHO platform to build clinical capacity in HIV, ZENITH students will participate in a monthly research ECHO seminar to share research progress, journal clubs, and mentorship.

University Of Maryland, Baltimore

THE JOHN E. FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL CENTER (FIC) SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING TO REDUCE DISPARITIES IN GLOBAL HEALTH AND TO FOSTER PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN U.S. SCIENTISTS AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS ABROAD. FIC SUPPORTS BASIC BIOLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, AS WELL AS RELATED RESEARCH TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT. THE RESEARCH PORTFOLIO IS DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT A WIDE VARIETY OF FUNDING MECHANISMS TO MEET PROGRAMMATIC OBJECTIVES.

93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research

Fogarty International Center (FIC) [HHS - NIH]

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [HHS - NIH]

Baltimore, Maryland 21201 United States

Single Zip Code

Fogarty HIV Research Training Program for Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (D43 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-22-151)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 65% from $597,138 to $986,801.