|
Global Health Matters >
Partnerships for Progress
Partnerships for Progress
FIC and Ellison Medical Foundation
FIC/Ellison Fellowships: Building U.S. expertise in global health,
FIC and the Ellison Medical Foundation have teamed up to provide
1 year of clinical research training in the developing world for
outstanding graduate-level U.S. students in the health professions
who have a strong interest in international health and/or clinical
research. The program is supported jointly with the Ellison Medical
Foundation and is administered by the American Association of Medical
Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Schools of Public Health.
Twenty-nine outstanding students applied for the first round of
applications, of which 20 were selected in March after a rigorous
2-day interview and selection meeting. The successful students were
matched to 14 previously chosen foreign research training sites,
each with a strong track record of NIH-funded medical research and
FIC training. Information on successful candi-dates and training
sites is available on the AAMC Web site at: www.aamc.org/overseasfellowship.
Global Health/Local Health
FIC is partnering with the National Center for Minority Health Disparities
(NCMHD) on a new effort to address global health disparities and
to benefit minority populations in the United States. Recognizing
that U.S. and foreign communities share many similarities, the FIC
and NCMHD are exploring opportunities to encourage U.S. minority
students to train abroad through FIC programs. Under a new agreement,
NCMHD will provide $750,000 in FY 2004 and $1,000,000 in FY 2005
to support health science students pursuing international health
research that addresses global health disparities relevant to minority
populations in the United States. The initiative operates through
the FIC/Ellison program, the International Research Scientist Development
Award (IRSDA), and through dissertation research support for U.S.
doctoral students planning to study HIV/AIDS or other high priority
research in developing countries that is relevant in the United
States.
Environmental Health: FIC and NIEHS
FIC and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS) signed their second collaborative agreement to jointly support
international initiatives of mutual interest. This agreement does
not include NIEHS support for FIC's extramural programs, which totals
$1.65 million in FY04, but extends the relationship into priority
areas that could become extramural programs or that inform current
policy and practice. Included in the 2004 agreement are:
- Funding for regional meetings of International Training and
Research in Environmental and Occupational Health grantees to
plan, coordinate, and evaluate in-country research programs.
- Funding to support the development of environmental health programs
at schools of public health in the Baltic region.
- Development of an environmental toxicology database in the National
Library of Medicine World Library of Toxicology.
- Development of neurotoxicology programs in developing country
neurosciences departments.
- Support for the NIH international Arctic health agenda.
- Support for training in scientific grant application writing
in developing countries.
The FIC and NIEHS Directors have assigned responsibility for coordinating
this agreement to Chris Schonwalder, Ph.D., Senior Environmental
Health Advisor to the FIC Director. He comes to the FIC after 25
years in extramural programs and senior staff positions at NIEHS.
NIEHS Director Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., Sc.D., L.H.D., notes the "...importance
of coordinating environmental health efforts globally" through the
FIC. Dr. Schonwalder has said that it is a joy and a challenge to
work on these programs with the dedicated and enthusiastic FIC staff.
"We work well together and enjoy sharing perspectives on the important
things we can accomplish through this arrangement," he said.
Brain Gain: FIC, NIEHS, and the International Brain Research
Organization
Recognizing the growing global burden of disease due to mental illness
and cognitive disorders, the FIC led the development of a new partnership
with the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). The National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the International
Brain Research Organization (IBRO) have agreed to work together
to support schools of neuroscience in developing countries. The
schools are one of IBRO's main tools for building capacity in the
neurosciences in low- and middle-income nations. School sessions
tend to be 2 weeks long; teachers and mentors are leading neuroscientists.
Recent schools have been held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Ofir
and Obidos, Portugal; Warsaw, Poland; Cape Town, South Africa; Dubrovnic/Zagreb,
Croatia; Mexico City, Mexico; and Nairobi, Kenya. Seventeen schools
in as many countries are scheduled for 2004; FIC and NIEHS will
identify up to three schools to be supported in FY 2004.
On the Diplomatic Front
FIC and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), the
NIH of Mexico, signed an historic agreement in June 2003 to work
together on common issues. Since that time, CONACYT and FIC have
identified critical and innovative ways to move forward. Recently,
CONACYT provided support to FIC for Mexican scientists who competed
successfully in three FIC/NIH programs—Health, Environment,
and Economic Development (HEED) Program, Fogarty International Research
Collaboration Award (FIRCA), and Global Health Research Initiative
Program (GRIP). This partnership benefits Mexico, FIC, and FIC's
other partners in these programs—the National Eye Institute,
National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Office of Dietary
Supplements, Office of Research on Women's Health, and the U.S.
Geological Survey. FIC is actively seeking similar partnerships
with other governments.
|
