Kenya has one of the largest HIV epidemics in the world with more than 1.5 million people living with the disease. Research on HIV in Kenya have contributed significantly to the management, treatment, and prevention of HIV in the country as well to the development of international guidelines worldwide. Aga Khan University East Africa (AKU) is a growing medical and nursing academic institution with campuses in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It initiated the first clinical infectious diseases (ID) and cardiology fellowships for medical doctors in East Africa and is developing research expertise in HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, in order to create a high quality HIV research environment, AKU needs to strengthen its research administration and management infrastructure. The objectives of this proposal are to: 1) understand the needs and gaps in research administration and management at AKU by conducting an on-the-ground assessment of the site; 2) improve the knowledge and skills of AKU research administrators and grant managers by implementing in-person training workshops in Nairobi, Kenya and facilitating site visits by AKU trainees to the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, USA; and 3) strengthen the ability of AKU research administrator and grant managers to successfully submit NIH, CDC, and other donor-funded grants by providing ongoing mentorship and online coursework. UW experts in research administration and grant and financial management will implement the objectives of the proposed infrastructure development training program, which will be led by Dr. Michael Chung, an Associate Professor of Global Health at UW, and Dr. William Macharia, the Associate Dean of Research at AKU. The program will be facilitated by Dr. Chung?s Treatment, Research, and Expert Education (TREE) program in the UW Department of Global Health (DGH). TREE has extensive experience building capacity in Kenyan institutions, and has offices in Seattle at the UW and in Nairobi at AKU, where Dr. Chung is also Chair of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Chung, the Program Director, and Dr. Macharia, the Co- Director, will establish a training program that will educate 12 administrators and managers at AKU in a series of 7 workshops conducted in Kenya over 3 years, facilitate visits to the UW in Seattle by 10 AKU trainees, and mentor a core group of trainees who are needed to successfully submit and administer grants from AKU. Dozens of trainees in East Africa will also be able to take online financial management courses provided by UW program faculty. By the end of the infrastructure development training program, research administrators and grant managers at AKU will be able to successfully submit and manage National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other donor-funded grants, and will significantly expand the number of HIV grant applications submitted by AKU faculty and amount of grant funding awarded to the institution.
The proposed program will strengthen the research administration and management infrastructure at Aga Khan University East Africa (AKU) to conduct HIV research in Kenya through a collaborative partnership with the University of Washington (UW). The program will build research capacity at AKU by: 1) conducting an assessment of the AKU research administration and management systems in Nairobi, Kenya; 2) implementing workshops in Nairobi and site visits to the UW in Seattle for AKU research administrators and grant managers; and 3) providing online financial management courses and ongoing mentorship from UW program faculty for AKU staff. The proposal will train and mentor 12 AKU trainees in hands-on workshops and mentorship programs, bring 10 trainees from AKU to UW, and teach dozens of trainees through online courses.
