We propose a unique training program in international maternal and child nutrition that builds on the world- renowned strengths of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University in research and training in maternal and child nutrition and in international nutrition. This program will build capacity for research in East Africa and South Asia by: (a) collaborating with existing research centers in this region to identify suitable trainees, (b) long-term engagement with trainees as they study at Cornell University and plan their future research, (c) consistent interactions between faculty from Cornell and collaborating institutions in the supervision of the research of trainees, (d) participation of faculty from Cornell and foreign collaboration institutions in other mutually beneficial, short-term training activities. Relevant electronic technologies will be used to support these program activities. Major foreign collaborators will come from Jomo Kenyetta University of Agriculture and Technology and the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh. In the proposed program, individuals will be trained to link knowledge from the basic biological sciences to research conducted at the population level. The core faculties are all recognized leaders in maternal and child nutrition and have extensive experience conducting research in developing countries. Their areas of expertise include biochemistry and molecular biology, nutritional physiology, public health nutrition, epidemiology, nutrition education, physical and cultural anthropology, nutrition policy, statistics, and nutritional surveillance. Excellent facilities are available for the proposed program, which is located in the largest academic unit devoted to human nutrition in the US. Related activities include our NIH training grant in maternal and child nutrition, Program in International Nutrition, Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program, WHO Collaborating Centers in Maternal and Child Nutrition and in Nutritional Surveillance, and the research and training coordinating center of the United Nations University?s Food and Nutrition Program.
