Training

Path, Seattle WA

Investigators

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Abstract

Core 4: Training[unreadable] [unreadable] Successful creation, distribution, and adoption of POC diagnostic technologies in LRS requires an integrated understanding of clinical, technical [unreadable] (lab based), business development and intellectual property management, acceptability, usability and ergonomics, developing-world advocacy, [unreadable] and marketing and distribution issues. Rarely do researchers in any one field have the capacity to understand and act upon information from each [unreadable] of these critical disciplines. Creating growth opportunities for individuals already engaged in the development and uptake of POC technologies [unreadable] is critical to improving the development and eventual success of new technologies.[unreadable] [unreadable] PATH and the UW Departments of Global Health and of Laboratory Medicine will offer a four-tier progressive training program which will engage [unreadable] individuals with varied experience and backgrounds from the fields of assay and device development, clinical laboratories, and disease specialties. [unreadable] The Point-of-Care International Diagnostics Education Advancement (POC IDEA) training courses will create a networked group of researchers trained [unreadable] in state-of-the-art technology and challenges for global health in LRS. Individuals with this unique skill set will be more likely to develop [unreadable] technologies appropriate for use in LRS, thus expediting the transition from research to meaningful clinical use.[unreadable] [unreadable] We will leverage our long-standing and ongoing global health activities at multiple sites in LRS to strengthen the didactic, laboratory, and [unreadable] field-based components of the POC IDEA training program. Local, national,and international notices of the program will attract high-quality [unreadable] applicants. Successful applicants will be those currently working on POC device and/or technology development in academia or industry or training[unreadable] in a PhD graduate program in any area related to rapid test diagnostics. Training a diverse group of researchers can be difficult, but through [unreadable] the UW's similar International Training and Education for HIV (ITECH) training programs, we have shown repeatedly that interdisciplinary training [unreadable] does work.[unreadable] [unreadable] The POC IDEA training system will be implemented in four progressive courses (Figure 10). Curriculum content will be managed by key UW professors [unreadable] and staff with significant input from PATH'S Diagnostic Development Team. Courses will be taught by UW professors and staff, PATH researchers, [unreadable] and recognized leaders in the field of clinical and laboratory medicine.[unreadable] [unreadable] POC IDEA Course 1 will start with a select group of 30 researchers from diverse technology and clinical backgrounds from high- and LRS across the [unreadable] globe, including 10 participants from developing countries. Prior to arriving at the training site, participants will receive access to a web-based [unreadable] tutorial which will familiarize them with the basic principles of POC testing. Course 1 will be taught in Seattle and focus on clinical issues [unreadable] related to POC diagnostic tests, relevant diseases of importance, and the realities and circumstances of LRS.[unreadable] [unreadable] Based on the capabilities and interests of participants in Course 1,10 applicants will be selected to participate in Course 2 (5 technology developers [unreadable] and 5 from developing countries). Course 2 will be a 3-week course taught in Seattle the following year giving participants advanced experience with [unreadable] epidemiology and clinicalissues related to STIs and HIV through the UW's well-established 2-week annual course Principles of Sexually Transmitted [unreadable] Diseases and HIV Research (http://depts.washinqton.edu/pshr/). The course has been offered since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of the best [unreadable] international STI/HIVtraining short courses, attracting over 100 pre- and post-doctoral and junior faculty participants per year from more than 30 [unreadable] countries. Although the work of the Center will go beyond tests for STIs and HIV, this course will provide information that is highly representative [unreadable] of the issues typical of diagnosis of other infectious diseases as well, and also provides modules dealing with management of opportunistic infections [unreadable] such as tuberculosis, malaria, and viral hepatitis. In addition, Course 2 participants will spend an additional week with hands-on laboratory training [unreadable] on state-of-the-art diagnostic methods at teaching laboratory facilities at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory, Shoreline, WA.[unreadable] [unreadable] From the 20 technology developers participating in Courses 1 or 2, 4 to 6 applicants will be selected for participation in Course 3, a field-based [unreadable] clinical and user training. Course 3 offers the unique opportunity for technology developers to visit LRS to understand how new technologies can [unreadable] be integrated into the health system for a benefit to all. Participants will have opportunities to visit clinics, manufacturing facilities, policymakers, [unreadable] and patients.[unreadable] [unreadable] One or two laboratory scientists from Course 3 will be selected to participate in Course 4: the Assay Development Fellowship. Fellows will spend [unreadable] up to 6 months gaining advanced assay development skills both in the PATH labs and the UW labs, followed by a 3-month period of distance mentorship upon [unreadable] returning home. Courses 3 and 4 are designed to impart valuable skills to researchers which will enable them to accelerate the movement of POC diagnostics [unreadable] from research and development to clinical use.[unreadable] [unreadable] Courses will be repeated through the duration of the Center (Table 12). Over the 5-year period of the Center, 150 researchers will receive training on [unreadable] clinical aspects of POC testing. These skills are critical to the successful development and uptake of new technologies.