Infectious Diseases in Africa (IDA) Training Symposium for Next Gen Scientists

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

5R13AI184067-02 Abstract. The heavy burden of communicable diseases on the African continent is largely made up of HIV, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. This trio of diseases alone is creating societal and economic instability in most African countries across all age groups, and particularly in children. Most recent estimates by UNAIDS of the global burden of HIV are that 39 million people are currently living with HIV-1 infection, 25.6 million of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The implementation of anti-retroviral therapy for people living with HIV (PLWH) comes with complications of costs and iatrogenic effects of drugs, and it is not a long-term solution to stop the epidemic in SSA. HIV prevention remains critical to turn the tide of HIV infections and an effective countermeasure against HIV-1 is desperately needed. More recently, passive immunization clinical trials have explored infusion of broadly neutralizing antibodies as an alternative HIV infection prevention strategy to pre-exposure prophylaxis with anti-retroviral drugs. Similar, new and innovative efforts are required to develop prevention strategies that would mitigate the HIV-1 co-morbidities of TB and malaria. In accordance with the 2019 NIH NOT-OD-20-018 that supports research training of the workforce, in this application, we propose to train early-stage scientists in Africa to fill the gap in ongoing efforts to build scientific literacy and skills for career development to the next generation of scientists. As the NIH is sponsoring several basic research projects as well as clinical trials in Africa to explore the appropriate countermeasure strategies, we believe that the proposed Infectious Disease in Africa: Training Symposium for the next generation of scientists (IDA) will lead to increased scientific knowledge and will help building future scientific leaders on the continent who will complement the U.S. task force in optimizing prevention strategies against infectious diseases. Building on the previous 11 IDA symposia, we now propose a further set of symposia, where the overarching aims are: 1) To provide cutting-edge knowledge in the fields of countermeasures against HIV and implementation for malaria and TB prevention. 2) To provide events that can enhance career development of the next generation of scientists, including grant writing, poster and oral presentation skills, networking and community engagement. The IDA training symposia will take place in Stellenbosch (Cape Town, South Africa) and each will leverage on the most recent reported results of the ongoing passive immunization and vaccine efficacy clinical trials for HIV-1, TB, and Malaria. Our efforts will comply with the NIH criteria for unbiased selection of participants.