March 2022  |  ICHAD & SMART Africa Monthly Monitor

Happy Spring from the ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams!

As we welcome longer and warmer days in the US, we are thrilled to receive two new grants this month. ICHAD has been awarded the $5 million Fogarty International Center's flagship LAUNCH research training grant. Within less than one month, our team and partners have established the training program, ACHIEVE, and we are in the process of recruiting the first cohort of ten trainees interested in expanding their knowledge and skills in global health, dissemination and implementation research, and data science, from the US and six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

ICHAD also received a $2.4 million NIH award for the Bridges-Round 2 study to examine the longitudinal impacts of an economic empowerment intervention on HIV risk prevention and care continuum outcomes among orphaned youth transitioning to young adulthood.

In addition, we are delighted to welcome a new Training Programs Manager, Chelsea Hand-Sheridan, to the ICHAD-US office. In our Uganda office, two team members have taken on new roles: Dr. Raymond Atwebembere is now the Study Coordinator and Ms. Gertrude Nabbosa is the Deputy Study Coordinator for the recently launched Obuvumu study. We are happy to be working with them in these new roles! 

In addition to launching these new programs, we are planning the Forum on Child and Adolescent Global Health Research and Capacity Building, in Kampala and Masaka, Uganda. We look forward to gathering with trainees, partners, and stakeholders in person in Uganda after so many months of virtual and long-distance collaboration.

In partnership,

The ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams

ICHAD Receives Competitive $5 Million, Five-Year LAUNCH Research Training Grant for Global Health Disparities from NIH

We are thrilled to announce that ICHAD recently received a $5 million grant through the highly competitive Launching Future Leaders in Global Health (LAUNCH) global research training grant, supported by the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes for Health (NIH). Awarded only every five years, the purpose of Fogarty’s flagship LAUNCH research training program is to “foster the next generation of global health scientists by providing trainees, early in their careers, a one-year mentored research training experience in global health at established biomedical and behavioral research institutions and project sites in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs).” The program also aims at strengthening and expanding scientific collaborations between LMIC research institutions and project sites and U.S. partners.

LAUNCH is led by principal investigators Professor Fred Ssewamala and Vice Provost Mary McKay in collaboration with colleagues at the Brown School and the School of Medicine at Washigton University in St. Louis. The research training program entitled Addressing the Research Capacity Gap in Global Child and Adolescent Health Disparities Utilizing Implementation and Data Sciences among Vulnerable Populations in Resource-limited Settings (ACHIEVE) is a consortium of 10 partner institutions, including Boston College, New York University, University of Illinois-Chicago, Makerere University, University of Ghana, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Makeni, University of Nairobi, and University of Rwanda.

ACHIEVE aims to increase dissemination and implementation (D&I) and data science research capacity among the next generation of global health investigators in order to address global health disparities affecting children, adolescents, and their adult caregivers. The program is designed for PhD students, medical doctors (MDs) and post-doctoral (PhD) trainees from diverse backgrounds in the US, as well as trainees (post-professional degree graduates) from six countries in sub-Saharan Africa—Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda. ACHIEVE also collaborates with other sites in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe that share similar health challenges and disease burdens to further connect, engage, and advance health research across the world.

The first cohort of ten research trainees from the United States and across Sub-Saharan Africa is currently being recruited and the program will start in summer 2022. For more information about ACHIEVE, visit https://sites.wustl.edu/achieve/.

NIMH Awards ICHAD $2.4 million in Grant Fund Research for Young People Affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded $2.4 million to ICHAD’s leadership team to examine the longitudinal impacts of an economic empowerment intervention on HIV risk prevention and care continuum outcomes among orphaned youth transitioning to young adulthood. The new study, known as Bridges-Round 2 (2022-2026) will be led by Fred Ssewamala, William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor at the Brown School, and Research Assistant Professors Proscovia Nabunya and Ozge Sensoy Bahar. The study will extend their original Bridges to the Future Study (2012-2018) that was implemented in Uganda among 1383 orphaned youth.

In the original study, participants received a combination intervention, consisting of a matched saving account, workshops on asset building and future planning, mentorship to reinforce learning and building optimism, and microenterprise promotion. Findings have demonstrated short-term success with improving emotional wellbeing, reduced self-reported sexual risk-taking behaviors, improved family cohesion, and positive educational outcomes among intervention participants.

Bridges-R2 will follow the original study participants for an additional 4-year period, with three data points. The team will utilize biomarkers, including HIV testing and viral load for those living with HIV, to provide the most precise results of the highly relevant, but currently unknown, sexual health outcomes among participants. The study will also qualitatively examine participants’ experiences with the original Bridges intervention, in addition to the key multi-level factors that may have affected participants’ decision-making and behaviors.

The research team includes Patricia Cavazos-Rehg at Washington University School of Medicine, and Torsten Neilands at University of California San Francisco. The in-country team includes Noeline Nakasujja at Makerere University, and implementing partners, Barbara Mukasa at Mildmay Uganda and Abel Mwebembezi at Reach the Youth Uganda. Details about the study can be found here.

ICHAD Uganda Staff Retreat

The ICHAD-Uganda team, togetehr with ICHAD Director Dr. Fred, participated in an eight-day staff retreat at the Bunyonyi Safaris Resort in Kabale District, Uganda. They gathered to work on strategic planning and capacity building, taking part in workshops focused on research ethics, data management, and career development, and engaging in SWOT analysis at the organizational and individual levels.

RESEARCH STUDIES

ANZANSI Family Program

Bridges to the Future R2

SMART Africa Studies

Kyaterekera Project

mHealth Pilot

M-Suubi

Say No to Stigma

Suubi+Adherence-R2

Suubi4Cancer

Suubi4Her

Suubi4STEM

Suubi4Stigma

TRAINING PROGRAMS

ACHIEVE

CHILD-Global Research Fellowship

LEAD Global Training Program

Researcher Resilience Training

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 13 | 12:30 pm CST

ICHAD Speaker Series: Harnessing the Power of Digital Technology to Support and Improve Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Tuberculosis Disease in Uganda, Dr. Juliet Nabbuye Sekandi, University of Georgia. For more information and to register, click here.

June 20-30, 2022

Forum on Child and Adolescent Global Health Research and Capacity Building, Kampala and Masaka, Uganda. For more information, click here.

OTHER EVENTS, FUNDING & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Applications

LEAD Global Training Program One-Year Postdoctoral Research Associate Position

- Postdocs or early career researchers with a commitment to global or domestic (US) health disparities research—especially mental health within resource constrained settings 

- For full program and application information, click here.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Global Social Welfare
 
Global Social Welfare Special Issue: Financial Capability and Assets for Socioeconomic Development

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2021 Annual Report

2021 Capacity Building Report

Capacity Building Connection

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NOTABLES

Congratulations to the following trainees and alumni for their recent accomplishments!

Raymond Atwebemebere (CHILD-GRF 2021) returned to ICHAD-Uganda after taking a year to complete his medical degree. He is the new Study Coordinator for the Obuvumu study.

Donte Bernard, (RRT 2020) started a new position as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Missouri Columbia within the Department of Psychological Sciences.

Andrew Ssemata (CHILD-GRF 2021) published Transitioning from paediatric to HIV adult care services for adolescents and young people living with HIV in the African region: a scoping review protocol in BJM Open Access. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Noeline Nakasujja, CHILD-GRF co-director, and Eugene Kinyanda, CHILD-GRF mentor.

We want to celebrate you!

We invite all trainees and alumni of ICHAD training programs (CHILD-GRF, LEAD, RRT & SMART Africa Global Fellows) to submit your career accomplishments and personal milestones. Email them to Chelsea Hand-Sheridan at c.hand-sheridan@wustl.edu.

ICHAD-US Welcomes New Team Member!

We are thrilled to welcome Chelsea Hand-Sheridan, the newest team member of the ICHAD-US. As the ICHAD Training Programs Manager, Chelsea will be overseeing our four training programs: CHILD-Global Research Fellowship (CHILD-GRF), LEAD Global Training Program, Researcher Resilience Training Program (RRT), and our newest program, ACHIEVE.

Chelsea has spent the last nearly eight years working to advance opportunities and pathways for refugees and immigrants with the St. Louis International Institute, most recently as Director of Workforce Solutions. She is passionate about the advancement of integration and equity for the most under-represented communities locally and around the world, and continues to learn and engage around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to moving to St. Louis, Chelsea spent 27 months in Tanzania as a Health Extension Volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in Tanga, Tanzania. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science: International Studies and a minor in Pre-Law from Eastern Illinois University and was a 2019 Emerging Leader with FOCUS St. Louis. Chelsea lives in St. Louis City with her husband and loves the diversity and unique offerings of STL, but also loves to travel and is always planning her next trip. 

Two ICHAD-Uganda Team Members Promoted!

Dr. Raymond Atwebemebere is returning to ICHAD-Uganda in his new role as Study Coordinator for the newly funded Obuvumu study. He previously worked with ICHAD as a Study Coordinator for Suubi4Stigma and took one year to complete his medical education. He is also a trainee with the CHILD-Global Research Fellowship. Congratulations and welcome back, Dr. Raymond!

Ms. Gertrude Nabbosa has worked with ICHAD-Uganda as a part-time counselor. She is moving into the new fulltime role as Deputy Study Coordinator for the Obuvumu study. Congratulations, Ms. Gertrude!

Social Corner

On the Pitch

ICHAD teamed up for a fiendly soccer match at the staff retreat

Future Doctor

Congratulations to Emmanuel Amoako Owusu, former ICHAD-US graduate research assistant and Brown School MSW Graduate! Emmanuel was admitted to the PhD in Social Work program at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. We wish you all the best, Emmanuel!