In this application, we propose to establish the University of Pittsburgh International Malaria Training and Research Program (IMTRP) by forging a strong alliance with Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, to study severe malaria anemia (SMA) in children. The objective of this program is to train local scientists that operate independently within Kenya to face the overwhelming morbidity and mortality placed on the Kenya people by SMA. The superb training and enabling environment at the University of Pittsburgh in the Graduate School of Public Health and Kenyatta University at the Centre for Complementary Medicine and Biotechnology (CCMB), respectively, including our strong collaborative ties with key institutions and researchers in Kenya, will facilitate the accomplishment of this goal. Over the course of this 4 year training program, we propose to train one postdoctoral fellow and two doctoral students at the University of Pittsburgh. The field-research will take place in Kisuma, Kenya, a holoendemic area of malaria transmission in western Kenya. In this area, the primary presentation of complicated malaria is severe malarial anemia with the highest frequency predominating in children under two years of age. In addition, a re-entry grant will be incorporated into the program to enable Kenyan scientist(s) to set-up/upgrade laboratory infrastructure at the CCMB and contribute to research activities therein. In years 1 and 3 of the project, we shall hold a three-week short-term intensive training course on infectious disease control including Immunology, Genetics, Hermatology, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. The course will be held at Kenyatta University and will be taught by researchers from Kenya and the US. The overall project we have assembled, will ensure that all participants in the University of Pittsburgh IMTRP program receive strong didactic training focusing on the most important themes requisite in the understanding of the pathogenesis and effective control and management of SMA.
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