Scientists affiliated with the Center for Vectorborne Diseases, University of California, Davis have been providing training opportunities for scientists from African and Latin American countries over the past 10 years. The Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC) at the University of Bamako also has extensive training experience, and is widely recognized as a center of excellence in Africa for malaria research and training in malaria vector research and control. The P.I. on this application has been working with the MRTC since 1991. We propose to build on this diverse and extensive training experience to develop a formal malaria research training program in a close collaboration with the MRTC, in the context of an ongoing research project supported by grant number -AI-40308 from NIAID, funded through May 2007. This project has a substantial field component, and training will be available in population genetics, cytogenetics, ecology, biostatistics, and molecular biology. Training will take place in both in the U.S. and Mali. Training faculty and facilities will be drawn from the UC Davis and MRTC as well as from collaborating laboratories and institutions. ? ? Training will be provided by: l) Gregory C. Lanzaro-population genetics! 2) Anton Cornel-insecticide resistance and 3) Shirley Luckhart-vector-Plasmodium interactions. Training will be provided to: l) Junior researchers at MRTC who are completing or have recently completed M.Sc. or Ph.D. degrees at the University of Bamako School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry,' and 2) MRTC post-doctoral researchers who have recently completed Ph.D. studies in the U.S. or Europe and are attempting to establish their research programs. The first group will enroll in Master's or Ph.D. programs at the University of Bamako. Four of these student trainees will spend 9 months each year receiving hands-on research training in Mali, under the supervision of Malian and U.S. training faculty, and 3 months each year in the U.S. receiving didactic and/or practical research training. The post-doctoral researchers will be supported by direct research mentoring and collaboration with U.S. and Malian training faculty and by provision of start-up funds to purchase supplies or small equipment or support field activities to generate preliminary data that will form the basis for applying for external grant funding. ? ?
