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Infectious diseases are a major threat to human health throughout
the globe. From well established pandemics, such as HIV,
malaria and tuberculosis, to outbreaks, such as SARS, ebola
and pandemic influenza, the cost in human lives increases
every year. Infectious diseases are not contained within
national borders and affect everything from cell biology
and genetics to social system band national security. To
come up with effective prevention and treatment strategies,
a global multi-disciplinary approach is needed.
The
International Infectious Disease and Global Health (IID&GH)
Training Program will focus on advanced trainees (PhD students,
postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows) from all four
of CIHR’s pillars of research (basic, clinical, epidemiology
and social sciences). They will be selected from a global
pool of candidates and will receive their primary research
training and supplemental academic programs offered by the
Program in one of four major research centres. These research
centres are sites of major research activities through collaborations
with the University of Manitoba (UM). These centres include
Winnipeg (the home of the UM and the National Microbiology
Laboratory and known nationally for its strength in infectious
disease research); Nairobi, Kenya (where contributions to
the epidemiology and basic science of HIV transmission and
natural resistance goes back 20 years); Bangalore, India
(since 2000 is a respected leading centre in the development
of innovative and effective HIV prevention strategies); and
Medellin, Colombia (the newest of the UM’s international
sites and a focus for HIV surveillance and prevention efforts
in the region). The Training Program will provide funding for the annual major course for Canadian-based
trainees in each of the 4 research centres and, in an effort
to realize true human capacity development, will fund local
trainees at each of the international centres. The Training
Program has 3 major research foci (HIV, emerging infections
and global health) and 4 themes (Aboriginal health, ethics,
knowledge translation and professional development). The
IID&GH Training Program curriculum is composed of the trainees primary research project,
an annual major course with learning visits, an optional short-term research practica
and a monthly scientific discussion group (Infectious Minds).
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