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Principal Investigator: HENRY M BLUMBERG
Organization: EMORY UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $298,480
Funding agency: John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences
In 2023, tuberculosis (TB) has reemerged as the leading global cause of death from a single infectious agent,
exceeding both HIV and COVID-19. TB remains an enormous public health problem in Ethiopia which is on the
WHO list of high burden TB and TB/HIV countries and has increasing rates of drug-resistant TB. Critical
shortages of well-trained TB investigators in Ethiopia and globally remain a major barrier to achieving the WHO
End TB Strategy goals. This renewal D43 application for the Ethiopia-Emory TB Research Training Program
(EETB-RTP) builds on the success, progress, and lessons learned during the past decade. The EETB-RTP
benefits from a successful partnership between Emory University in Atlanta and 3 Ethiopian institutions in
Addis Ababa: the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), an internationally recognized research institute
with a major focus on TB investigation; Addis Ababa University, the oldest and largest degree granting
university in Ethiopia; and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, which along with AHRI, is part of the Ethiopian
Ministry of Health (MOH). Important progress has been achieved, especially during the current funding cycle,
in developing TB research infrastructure in Ethiopia and in training early-stage investigators who are now
emerging as leaders in TB research and as mentors for a new generation of trainees. Since 2013, the EETB-
RTP has provided long-term training to 40 Ethiopian trainees helping to establish an emerging critical mass of
MD and PhD-level investigators focused on TB-related clinical and translational research. The proportion of
women trainees has increased from 4/19 (21%) in the first funding cycle to 11/21 (52%) in the current 5-year
cycle. Despite the challenges encountered due to the impact of COVID-19, our EETB-RTP Fogarty trainees
have had 164 TB and/or COVID-19 peer reviewed publications during the current funding cycle. Ethiopian
trainees also secured $1.55 million in external grant funding during the current cycle and a total of $2.89 million
since program inception. To further momentum and establish a viable plan for sustainability, an important focus
of this application is to continue to transfer program management to Ethiopian investigators and expand the
pool of influential TB mentors in Ethiopia. We propose an innovative TB research training program to overcome
critical gaps that remain in the TB research/research training infrastructure. Specific Aims include: 1) Continue
to build relevant and sustainable research capacity in Ethiopia by aligning research training activities with the
priorities outlined in the MOH’s “National TB Research Roadmap (2022-2026)”; 2) Support career development
to promote the 7 professional characteristics of a translational scientist aligned with leadership in TB research;
3) Implement a new Advanced Training Track which will provide advanced grant writing instruction, mentor and
leadership training to former Ethiopian Fogarty trainees to optimize their transition into independent
investigators and mentors for the next generation of Ethiopian investigators; and 4) Enhance diversity of the
Ethiopian TB biomedical workforce by continuing to increase the number of women engaged in TB research.
Terms: <AIDS Virus><Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Virus><Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus><COVID-19><COVID-19 affected><COVID-19 consequence><COVID-19 effect><COVID-19 impact><COVID-19 impacted><CV-19><Cause of Death><Characteristics><Clinical Research><Clinical Study><Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019><Country><Doctor of Philosophy><Drug Resistance Tuberculosis><Drug Resistant TB><Drug Resistant Tuberculosis><Drug resistance in tuberculosis><Ethiopia><Ethiopian><Funding><Generations><Goals><Grant><HIV><HIV/Mtb><HIV/TB><HIV/mycobacterium tuberculosis><HIV/tuberculosis><Health><Human Immunodeficiency Viruses><Infectious Agent><Influentials><Institution><Instruction><International><Investigation><Investigators><LAV-HTLV-III><Leadership><Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus><M tuberculosis infection><M. tb infection><M. tuberculosis infection><M. tuberculosis/HIV><M.tb infection><M.tuberculosis infection><MTB infection><Mentors><Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection><Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection><Peer Review><Ph.D.><PhD><Public Health><Publications><Research><Research Infrastructure><Research Institute><Research Personnel><Research Training><Researchers><Scientific Publication><Secure><TB drug resistance><TB infection><Training><Training Activity><Training Programs><Training and Infrastructure><Translational Research><Translational Science><Tuberculosis><Universities><Virus-HIV><Woman><Writing><career development><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 consequence><coronavirus disease 2019 effect><coronavirus disease 2019 impact><coronavirus disease-19><coronavirus disease-19 impact><coronavirus infectious disease-19><disseminated TB><disseminated tuberculosis><drug resistance in TB><drug resistant in tuberculosis><infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis><infectious organism><innovate><innovation><innovative><next generation><programs><success><training module><translation research><translational investigation><translational investigator><translational researcher><translational scientist><tuberculosis infection><tuberculous spondyloarthropathy>