This application proposes the continuation and expansion of the University of Nebraska's Fogarty International Training Program in HIV- and AIDS-Associated Malignancies (Nebraska AITRP). The goal of the Nebraska AITRP is to continue to provide training for Zambian and Chinese biomedical scientists and health care providers to increase their expertise and capability in performing high quality biomedical, behavioral, and preventative research on HIV- and AIDS-associated diseases and malignancies. Foreign partners are the University of Zambia School of Medicine and University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia;Nankai University in Tianjin, China;and the Tianjin Medical University and the Cancer Institute and Hospital. The objectives of this renewal application are to 1) continue to build the HIV/AIDS and associated diseases and malignancies research capacity in Zambia and China, and 2) expand program components to address evolving needs in research on prevention, treatment, and management of AIDS and associated diseases identified by the program's foreign partners. The objectives will be accomplished through three specific aims: 1) Provide intensive academic instruction for Zambian and Chinese fellows at the University of Nebraska leading to a: i) MMed in pathology, ii) MPH in cancer epidemiology, or iii) MS or PhD in tumor virology or nursing. 2) Provide opportunities for Zambian and Chinese fellows to participate in biomedical research rotations at the University of Nebraska and the University of Miami in: 1) basic research on the role of HIV, human papilloma virus (HPV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and Epstein Barr virus (EBV) in the development of AIDS-associated malignancies;ii) advanced laboratory methods to detect pathogens and monitor HIV genotypes;iii) basic and clinical research on neurological diseases associated with HIV infection;iv) clinical research on disease management of AIDS, anti-viral treatments, and the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS and non AIDS-associated malignancies;and v) epidemiology, data analysis, and the development and evaluation of public health intervention strategies. 3) Provide in-country training, courses and workshops in epidemiology, behavioral interventions, HIV pathogenesis, AIDS-associated diseases, laboratory techniques, ethics, and grant/manuscript preparation. The Nebraska Center for Virology, a premier virology research and training center, will administer the program.
Zambia and China have a tremendous need to prevent, diagnose, and manage HIV-infected individuals and to detect, treat, and manage HIV/AIDS-associated opportunistic infections and diseases, including AIDS- associated malignancies. However, in-country efforts to diagnose and treat are hampered by a critical lack of infrastructure, resources, and trained personnel. The Nebraska AITRP has contributed greatly to improved research capacity and infrastructure development over the last nine years, and having put in place important collaborations, is poised to continue to do so well into the future.
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