Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout Africa and attempts to control the disease through drug treatment, vaccine development and insect vector control have met with limited success. Genetic variability of Plasmodium falciparum underlies its transmission success and thwarts efforts to control disease. Drug resistance to chloroquine has spread from Asia throughout Africa and resistance to second and third line drugs is now commonplace. Genetic variation in antigenic, drug resistance and pathogenesis determinants is abundant and determines the outcome of an infection at the level of the individual and the disease determinants at the level of the population. ? ? This is a proposal for a second 5-year training program to expand the capabilities of scientists and health professionals in Senegal with the goal of strengthening the scientific foundations for malaria research in the country. This research training program emphasizes two major areas of malaria research- pathogenesis, immunology, invasion, and parasite diversity; epidemiology and clinical disease characteristics. ? ? The educational emphasis of this proposal is for long-term research training of graduate and postdoctoral students, with a scientific focus linked to collaborative projects based in Senegal. Collaborating faculty participating in this program have primary expertise in molecular parasitology, immunology, cellular biology, epidemiology, and population studies. Although most are based at the Harvard School of Public Health, faculty from other Harvard Schools and six faculties from Senegal are represented. ? ? We will continue to offer problem oriented malaria research workshops to be conducted in Senegal along with other training programs described in this PA. Numerous malaria-related courses, seminars and workshops all coordinated by the faculty at HSPH, will be made available for trainees. Selection of candidates will be made by a program committee based upon previous academic performance and experience of the trainees, as well as their future potential in Senegal. ? ? The long-term objective of this program is to train scientists and health professionals from Senegal who will become experts in malaria and contribute significantly to the advancement of malaria research in their own country and other African countries. In addition, this group of trainees will be able to identify scientific priorities and the means to pursue, strengthen and sustain, through collaborative research training, malaria research required to develop or improve the tools for malaria prevention and control in Senegal. ? ?
Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications
