Over the past 15 years, the AIDS International Training and Research Program at Case Western Reserve University (AITRP CWRU) has contributed to rebuilding capacity in Uganda by training Ugandan physicians, scientists and public health professional at all levels. Since 1988, the AITRP CWRU has trained 5 PhDs and 30 Masters scientists, 2 postdoctoral fellows, 27 short-term technical training and over 800 in-country trainees. Graduates of our program now hold prominent positions in the Ministry of Health of Uganda, Makerere University, and the World Health Organization. The HIV epidemic is still evolving in Uganda and now poses a new generation of challenges that will require expertise in fields such as immunology, virology, clinical trials, epidemiology, pharmacology and behavioral science as well as public health, nursing, and public policy. The AITRP CWRU has also evolved to meet some of these challenges. The goal of this training program is to develop scientific leadership in the field of HIV prevention and treatment. This goal will be achieved through a longstanding collaboration between CWRU, Makerere University, and the Ministry of Health in Uganda and a new collaboration between Mbarara University and CWRU. The specific training objectives of the AITRP CWRU will be met through a coherent, multi-disciplinary program of education and training in degree and non-degree experiences that are based both at CWRU and in Uganda. The mainstay of the training will continue to be the graduate training at CWRU which will include advanced degrees in disciplines needed in HIV prevention and treatment research, The program will now balance training experiences at the Masters and PhD. levels. This application proposes two new training activities that will lead to graduate degrees at Makerere University, It also proposes to expand training to include Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Non-degree training will include a mix of short and long-term training experiences both in the U.S. and in Uganda. In country activities will be coordinated and organized through a Ugandan research mentor, a former AITRP trainee, and will be implemented through the Ugandan Society for Health Scientists, a newly formed research society, organized by the former trainees and supported, in part, by AlTRP CWRU. This society has improved the continuity of graduate training, promoted the dissemination of research findings within Uganda, and built capacity to conduct independent, local research.
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