The major goal of the UAB Public Health/Biomedical Research Training Program (UAB MHIRT) is to train and promote the professional development and participation of underrepresented minority students in international biomedical and behavioral research. This will contribute to the cadre of researchers engaged in tackling and reducing health disparities in populations. The program will recruit and train 9 undergraduate, 1 professional and 2 master's students annually for five years. Each trainee will be matched with a research project at one of seven foreign sites in four countries: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana;Kumasi South Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana;Center for the Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala city, Guatemala;INCAP/FANCAP (Institute for Nutrition of Central America and Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala;Ministry of Health (North-East and Western Regions), Jamaica;and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) Lima, Peru. Trainees will receive pre-departure training and post-training follow-up from UAB Faculty Mentors. Pre-departure training will include training in research ethics, cultural orientation and scientific methods such as experimental design, data collection and analysis and use of scientific equipment. Trainee research projects will be based on collaborative research between the sponsoring institution and UAB. Research topics include infectious diseases (HIV, malaria, vaccine-preventable infections), maternal and child health, nutrition, chronic disease (asthma, cancer, hypertension and diabetes) and health care service delivery. Once overseas, each trainee will perform research and collect and manage data under the guidance of a Foreign Mentor. Trainees are required to write a final paper based on their project data under guidance from the UAB and foreign site mentors. This paper may be submitted for presentation at a national conference and for publication. The program is budgeted to cover travel, living and research expenses for trainees, and provide each trainee with a monthly stipend while overseas. UAB Faculty Mentors may travel to the foreign site once each year, and 2 Foreign Mentors may travel to UAB for collaborative work each year.

Public Health Relevance

Trainees will gain experience by conducting research in a different cultural context, and will be encouraged to pursue graduate studies and careers in the field of international health research. The program will help to provide a solid cadre of research personnel that will contribute to alleviating the disparities in health experienced by people in developing countries and underrepresented minorities in the U.S.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Type
Minority International Research Training Grants (FIC) (T37)
Project #
5T37MD001448-15
Application #
8204855
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMD1-LW (11))
Program Officer
Berzon, Richard
Project Start
1995-09-20
Project End
2013-12-31
Budget Start
2012-01-01
Budget End
2012-12-31
Support Year
15
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$241,941
Indirect Cost
$16,941
Name
University of Alabama Birmingham
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
063690705
City
Birmingham
State
AL
Country
United States
Zip Code
35294
Jolly, Pauline; Padilla, Luz A; Ahmed, Charisse et al. (2018) Barriers to antiretroviral therapy initiation for HIV-positive children aged 2-18 months in Swaziland. Afr J AIDS Res 17:193-202
Claye, Lea Jean; Sakhuja, Swati; Nutt, Ashley et al. (2018) Predictors of pregnancy after HIV-positive diagnosis among women in western Jamaica. Int J Womens Health 10:623-632
Wright, Saidah; Earland, Dominique; Sakhuja, Swati et al. (2017) Anemia in pregnancy in Western Jamaica. Int J Womens Health 9:431-439
Jolly, Pauline E; Mthethwa-Hleta, Simangele; Padilla, Luz A et al. (2017) Screening, prevalence, and risk factors for cervical lesions among HIV positive and HIV negative women in Swaziland. BMC Public Health 17:218
Koneru, Alaya; Jolly, Pauline E; Blakemore, Shaundra et al. (2017) Acceptance of peer navigators to reduce barriers to cervical cancer screening and treatment among women with HIV infection in Tanzania. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 138:53-61
Ahmed, Charisse V; Jolly, Pauline; Padilla, Luz et al. (2017) A qualitative analysis of the barriers to antiretroviral therapy initiation among children 2 to 18 months of age in Swaziland. Afr J AIDS Res 16:321-328
Boakye, Jeffrey; Mensah, Danielle; Sakhuja, Swati et al. (2017) Socioeconomic Disparities in the Prevalence of Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Ghanaian Women. Ann Glob Health 83:423-431
Pham, Phuong N; Williams, LaQueena T; Obot, Uduak et al. (2017) Epidemiology of Chikungunya fever outbreak in Western Jamaica during July-December 2014. Res Rep Trop Med 8:7-16
Jepkemboi, Grace; Jolly, Pauline; Gillyard, KaNesha et al. (2016) Educating Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. Child Educ 92:391-395
Afum, Clarrisa; Cudjoe, Lorene; Hills, Justin et al. (2016) Association between Aflatoxin M? and Liver Disease in HBV/HCV Infected Persons in Ghana. Int J Environ Res Public Health 13:377

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