The first year of the award will be spent primarily in the USA while the candidate completes a master's degree in public health. The second and third years will be spent in South Africa based at the Africa Centre for Population Studies and Reproductive Health in Natal. The candidate's US mentor, Professor Michael Bennish, directs this institution. This institution is where the primary clinical trial that the candidate will complete a cost-effectiveness analysis is being conducted on. This NIH funded trial aims to assess the efficacy of micronutrient supplementation on diarrhea and other diseases in HIV-infected and non-infected South African children. The analysis will include an evaluation of the costs and consequences of HIV and other childhood diseases upon the families and communities of the children in the trial. The candidate will also participate in other ongoing and planned studies. The candidate's overseas mentor will be Professor Salim Karim, the Director of the HIV Prevention and Vaccine Unit of the Medical Research Council of South Africa in Durban, Natal. Under the mentoring of Dr. Karim, the candidate will work on several ongoing and planned HIV-related interventions in South Africa. The candidate will remain a member of the New England Medical Center Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Disease, and will have access to ongoing support form the Division's expertise in HIV disease and international health. In addition, he will have access to support from consultants in the Divisions of Clinical Care Research and Clinical Decision-Making and Informatics. The candidate's long-term plans are to continue to work as a member of the multi-institutional team in South Africa that aims to develop cost-effective public health interventions in the area of HIV disease while continuing to be a member of the division in NEMC.
