The primary goal of this proposal is to plan for the development of and launch a sustainable Regional Center of Research Excellence (RCRE) for non-communicable diseases and injuries (NCDIs) in Rwanda. To accomplish this goal, we will establish a bi-lateral, multi-institutional, US-Rwanda collaboration to 1) conduct a rigorous landscape analysis of local infrastructure and human capacities and 2) initiate activities to address gaps in capacity for conducting NCDI research and establishing a RCRE in Rwanda. The initial focus will be on two core areas, cancer and injury, and we will conduct training and education to perform high-quality research in these core areas, and developing the electronic data infrastructure and administration needed to establish/improve disease registration for research purposes. This application leverages long- standing, pre-existing partnerships between Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), University of Rwanda (UR), Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH), Harvard University Medical School (HMS), Partners in Health (PIH), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), King Faisal Hospital, and the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) of the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH). The plans for and the subsequent establishment of a RCRE in NCDI will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research supported by each of these individual institutions by uniting efforts and fostering collaboration within the RCRE and other Rwandan stakeholders. The proposed name of the center is ?GUKORANYA? (Global University Consortium for Research in Non- communicable diseases and InjurY) Research Center (GRC). In Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, the word `gukoranya' means `to gather together'. After building the necessary research capacities and infrastructure, this center will assess the burden of cancer and injury in Rwanda and develop feasible and effective research strategies to inform the public policy and clinical practices for the prevention and treatment of these conditions.
The goals of the two-year planning grant is to develop and begin to use the blueprint for establishing the GRC. The proposed GRC will facilitate and enhance the conception, design, funding, and completion of NCDI research in Rwanda. GRC will expand upon existing partnerships and resources in research expertise, data systems, and research program agenda setting, as related to NCDIs. GRC will establish a successful model for NCDI research in the East African Community.
