The purpose of this proposal is to create a pediatric malaria research training fellowship at the US Army Medical Research Unit/Kenya Medical Research Institute and the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital facilities in Kisumu, Kenya. Four physicians about to enter their last year of pediatrics training at the University of Nairobi will be selected based on competition for this 12-month fellowship. The fellowship year will satisfy the final requirements for the Masters of Medicine in Pediatrics. During the training, the fellows will spend 2-1/2 months of clinical ward time during which they will acquire experience in the management of malaria and the accompanying severe complications in children, especially severe anemia. An additional two months will be dedicated to rotations through the different sections of the US Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya/KEMRI laboratories during which they will learn basic techniques in molecular biology, immuno- hematology, and malaria culture. The main requirement of the fellowship will be the preparation of and execution of a research proposal that addresses a critical question in the management or understanding of the pathogenesis of severe malarial anemia. Throughout the training period fellows also will be required to participate in clinical and research conferences, prepare lectures, and discuss relevant papers from the malaria basic and clinical research literatures. The long-term objective of this proposal is to increase the critical mass of qualified Kenyan physician investigators who choose biomedical research as their long-term career path and are able to contribute to the advancement of knowledge of diseases of vital importance to their nation such as severe malarial anemia. ? ? ?
