Rwandan Research Fellowship

National Institute On Minority Health And Health Disparities

Investigators

Abstract

For FY25, Dr. Simon Pierre Bigirimana was selected as the 9th NIMHD-NIDDK-Rwandan fellow. Dr. Bigirimana has joined the NIH in January 2025 and will continue her fellowship through December 31, 2025. During his fellowship with intramural NIDDK, Dr. Bigirimana has been trained to provide skills and experience to run clinical trials which will lead to improved diabetes diagnosis and treatment in Rwanda and beyond. In his first eight months at NIH, specifically January to August, his training has taken on three key dimensions: 1) Clinical Bedside Study Administration, 2) Academic Learning from key courses, and 3) Analyzing Data and Presenting Data in Abstract and Poster form. In the remaining months of his fellowship, he will continue his first three roles and add writing a manuscript, making a graduation presentation and writing grant applications. Dr. Bigirimana has become such an important and knowledgeable member of the Clinical Research team that he now teaches incoming team members at the bedside how to set up and run multi-sampled OGTT including aliquoting and storing blood samples and then analyzing the results. He also has completed the prestigious NIH Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research course. Plus, he has taken a course on statistics offered by the NIH Library. And he has taken the initiative to complete two certificate courses at Johns Hopkins, specifically, Introduction to Public Health and Summary Statistics in Public Health. Lastly, he has delivered oral and poster presentations both at NIH and at international conferences, including the 20th Annual NIDDK Scientific Conference, the 85th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, and the National Medical Association Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly, where he received a travel award. His presentations have covered topics such as The Physiologic Types of Type 2 Diabetes in Africans Vary by Phenotype and Affect Both Diagnostic Paradigms and Therapy, and Age of Immigration May Be a Determinant of Sleep Quality and Health in Africans Living in the United States. He has also prepared a submission to the NIH Research Festival, which will be held in September 2025 titled “Detecting Cardiometabolic Risk by a 1-hour OGTT is Enhanced by dividing Intermediate Hyperglycemia according to the Presence or Absence of Impaired Fasting Glucose”. For the remaining 4 months of his fellowship, he will continue his clinical work and training and focus on writing a manuscript and writing grant applications. Of note, he has been accepted into the NIDDK 2025 Grant Writing Course which will be held in August and September 2025. In addition, he will give his multi-institute graduation speech on November 12, 2025 and then use the remaining weeks to write a grant application.