This competing renewal application for the Columbia University International Training Program in Epidemiology of AIDS builds on the successes of the last seven years. The past 18 long-term and 20 short-term Fellows of the Program have been scientifically productive, have made major new scientific contributions, have been instrumental in South Africa's success in securing competitive international grants and have taken up several key leadership positions. Based on the past successes, the proposed program will be based on the concept of a """"""""continuum of training"""""""" where the mentorship, training and placements in the USA are seamlessly linked to the mentorship, practical training and research experiences in South Africa. The proposed program is extended in this proposal, into a multidisciplinary program including Public Health and Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Science and Basic Science, for both AIDS and tuberculosis. An ethics training initiative is included. Besides the several senior Faculty from both the USA and South Africa, the Program includes a 6 member Executive Committee and a 16 member Steering Committee with balanced disciplinary and country representation. The Program will have strong links with other training programs funded by Fogarty or other agencies, as well as with NIH funded research both in the USA and South Africa. Fellows will be carefully selected for one of the eight training categories, the emphasis in the Program will be on long term training in the USA with periods spent in South Africa doing research, preferably research linked to NIH funded projects, such as HIV prevention trials. Within the southern African region, the multiplier effect of the USA based training is achieved through past Fellows teaching in the Southern African Summer School Programs. The Program will be monitored by the success of past Fellows, the positions they obtain in South Africa, the role they play in AIDS and tuberculosis control and their level of success in obtaining grants and publishing important relevant research findings.
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