The HIV/AIDS pandemic is the gravest infectious disease threat to human health and stability in modern times. After 20 years of effort, we still do not have a cure, a vaccine or a microbicide. International collaborative HIV/AIDS research, and the training needed for developing country scientists to lead that research, is an urgent global priority. The Johns Hopkins University Fogarty AIDS International Training & Research Program (Hopkins AITRP) is now in its 15th year of providing such training. This application seeks to continue and expand the program for an additional 5 years of support. The Hopkins AITRP is centered in the Department of Epidemiology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) and includes faculty across the Schools of Public Health and Medicine. Primary partner countries include: Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Thailand, India, China, Laos, Brazil and the Dominican Republic (DR). Newer partner countries include Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa. In Years 11-15 we trained 47 long-term degree candidates: 19 doctoral and 28 masters; 410 short-term trainees and 20 Advanced In-Country Research Project trainees. Our rate of return to home countries has been very high (2/499 did not return). We have emphasized training in epidemiology, clinical trials, prevention research, bioethics, HIV vaccinology, behavioral sciences, virology and research on substance use and HIV infection. We plan to continue to offer training in these areas and to expand training foci in Years 16-20 in HIV vaccine clinical research; Anti-viral drug trials with the ACTG; bridging prevention and care initiatives; molecular epidemiology; human rights and HIV/AIDS and qualitative research methods. We are submitting 3 additional supplemental award applications: a geographic expansion to the Russian Federation, an NIDA-related expansion in HIV/AIDS substance abuse in South and Southeast Asia and a vaccinology-focused geographic expansion in Cameroon with the JHU Center for Immunization Research. We are proposing 11 long-term degree trainees, 323 short-term trainees, 11 postdoctoral trainees. We will also offer 51 in-country training workshops in 8 countries. They will be local, national and regional (international) in scope.
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