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News & Updates
August 2023 Edition, Issue 68
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Welcome to another edition of the CARTA monthly updates. Read on to keep abreast with what is new. | |
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- Program News
- Fellows News
- Partner News
- Publications
- Our Reads
- Opportunities
- Resources
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*Click on 'view entire email' should all highlights not be displayed in a single email | | | |
Ready for the CARTA Conference 2023! | |
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CARTA, in collaboration with the School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) is excited to host the Wits School of Public Health Research Day and CARTA Conference 2023 that will take place on September 14 - 15, 2023, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
On the first day, the Wits research community and CARTA Early Career Researchers will showcase their research at the biennial Research Day. The CARTA conference, held on the second day, will provide a platform to spotlight CARTA's interventions, methodologies, breakthroughs, and overarching impact. It will be a celebration of the remarkable work achieved by the CARTA family. It will also offer an invaluable opportunity to draw lessons from our collective journey and to collectively shape the trajectory of CARTA's future.
Not attending the conference? Register for some of our live-streamed sessions.
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Training of Trainers for CARTA PhD Training | |
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The program held a joint Training of Trainers (ToT) for the CARTA PhD training at the University of Rwanda from August 21 - 25, 2023. In attendance were 28 participants and 16 facilitators drawn from CARTA’s partner institutions. The ToT aimed to strengthen the capacity of trainees to adopt and independently carry out the intervention in line with CARTA’s mainstreaming efforts.
A series of four seminars, CARTA JASes are designed to equip fellows with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the research process successfully. JASes offer a dynamic and flexible learning environment, allowing fellows to engage in self-directed learning while receiving guidance from local and international facilitators. The sequential four-year curriculum offered to each cohort progressively builds critical research competencies.
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Cohort Ten Wraps Up CARTA PhD training | |
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The program’s tenth cohort successfully completed their fourth and final Joint Advanced Seminar (JAS) which was hosted by Makerere University, Uganda. The seminar was organized in a blended format, comprising a four-week purely virtual component, followed by a two-week residential stay. The virtual sessions commenced on July 3 and concluded on July 28, 2023. The CARTA Moodle learning platform was used to facilitate seamless interaction between the fellows and facilitators during the virtual phase. This approach ensured that the participants could actively engage in the program and make the most of the valuable knowledge shared by experts. The fellows then proceeded to the face-to-face residential workshop, which took place from August 7 - 18, 2023, at the Makerere School of Public Health, Resilient Africa Network (RAN) Lab. Congratulations to all cohort ten fellows!
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New Publication on CARTA's Management Strategies during COVID-19 | |
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CARTA is pleased to announce the publication of an article that delves into the experiences and management-related interventions that enabled the program to demonstrate remarkable resilience during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article, titled "Resilience of Research Capacity Strengthening Initiatives: Lessons from the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) during the COVID-19 Pandemic," explores the strategies that helped CARTA maintain its multidisciplinary approach to strengthening research capacity. The research conducted by the authors (CARTA team) involved a comprehensive analysis of programmatic, institutional, and fellowship-level interventions taken by CARTA in 2020.
Access the full publication here
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Nanfizat Abiket Alamukii (cohort 9 fellow, University of Ibadan) successfully defended her PhD thesis on ‘Barriers To Early Diagnosis, Tumour Necrosis Factor And Receptor Genetic Variants As Possible Predictors For Breast Cancer Among Nigerian Women’ on August 14, 2023 at the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan.
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Promotions and Appointments | |
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Steven Kisaka (cohort 7 graduate, Makerere University) was appointed Director of Corporate Services at the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) Secretariat on August 1, 2023. Before this appointment, he worked as a Lecturer at Makerere University.
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Olusola Olawoye (cohort 7 graduate, University of Ibadan) was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC, Clinical Services) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan in Nigeria on August 14, 2023.
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Sara Nieuwoudt (cohort 4 graduate, University of the Witwatersrand) was elected Chair of the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences Wellness Committee on August 15, 2023. She has been serving as the chair of the committee's Breastfeeding Technical Working Group, a role she will maintain. Sara’s PhD was focused on breastfeeding and is one of the reasons she was invited to become a committee member.
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Mpho Molete (cohort 6 graduate, University of Witswatersrand) was promoted to Head of for the School of Oral Health Sciences and Wits Oral Health Centre on August 1, 2023. She has been serving as a Dental Public Health Specialist since 2012. She also received a Wits-Carnegie Diversifying Academy Grant, which will run for the next two years (June 2023 to June 2025). The purpose of the grant is to research and enable academic leadership development through the program. Mpho attributes this grant to the post-graduate workshop experience. On August 26, 2023, she was a guest speaker at the South African Dental Congress in Cape Town. She spoke in a Community Dentistry session and delivered a presentation on ‘Strengthening Oral Health Programs: Getting it Right at Implementation’.
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Godwin Anywar (cohort 6 graduate, Makerere University) was promoted to a Lecturer position at Makerere University on August 1, 2023. He has been serving as an Assistant Lecturer at the same institution since 2016. Within the month, he was selected to be a Mentor for the Science Advice Skills Development Program (SASDP-2) of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice, Africa Chapter (INGSA-Africa), South Africa, on August 21, 2023; awarded ‘Outstanding German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) alumnus’ on August 9, 2023; and appointed member of the Asian Phytopathological Society on August 11, 2023.
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Early Career Researchers in Action | |
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Jepchirchir Kiplagat (cohort 5 graduate, Moi University) was awarded an Emerging Global Leader Grant Award (K43) by the National Institute of Health - Fogarty International Center. The project will run for the next 5 years (July 17, 2023 to April 30, 2028). Her work is an extension of the CARTA re-entry grant and will complete the development and pilot testing of the community-based medication adherence support model for older people living with HIV, including assessing costing and budget impact analysis of such a model.
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Frederick Oporia (cohort 10 fellow, Makerere University) was invited to a live interview on NBS Uganda, a national television in Uganda, on August 5, 2023, to give expert opinion from the academic perspective on the state of drowning in Uganda. This followed the incident of a boat capsize in which at least 30 people drowned in Lake Victoria on August 2, 2023.
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John Alonge (cohort 4 graduate, University of Ibadan) attended the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC), organized by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from August 20 to 25, 2023. Within the gathering, he delivered an oral presentation on ‘Educating Digital Preservation and Curation in Library and Information Science Schools: The Contemporary Landscape in Nigeria.’ The presentation underscored the significance of integrating instruction on digital preservation and curation within the curricula of Library and Information Science.
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Cadmus Eniola (cohort 7 graduate, University of Ibadan) was invited to speak at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on July 16 - 20, 2023. She presented on ‘End-of-life Care of Dementia in Rural and Urban Settings.’
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James Kangethe (cohort 10 fellow, University of Nairobi) attended the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference held in Brisbane, Australia, on July 23 to 26, 2023. He delivered an oral presentation on his PhD research work, ‘Co-infection of High-risk Human Papillomavirus and Human T- lymphotropic Virus-1 Among Women Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy at a Tertiary Hospital in Kenya’. His presentation emphasized the assessment of sexually transmitted infections among vulnerable populations such as women living with HIV.
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Maureen Majamanda (cohort 10 fellow, Kamuzu University of Health Science) developed a short learning program for nurses in Malawi from her PhD work. The program, which both local and international experts validated, was launched on July 25, 2023, at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi. In attendance were the nurse leaders from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, faculty members from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, researchers, PhD students from different local and international training institutions, CARTA fellows, and some training participants who will benefit from this program.
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Prof. Edward BBaale, New Focal Person at Makerere University | |
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On August 3, 2023, Prof. Edward BBaale, the new Director of the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training at Makerere University, was appointed the CARTA focal person for the university. He will replace Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi, one of our longest-serving focal persons. We are happy to have Prof. Bbaale on board, and we look forward to his participation in CARTA activities, including the upcoming CARTA events at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in September.
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We take this opportunity to immensely thank Prof. Buyinza for his service to CARTA over the years as one of the oldest focal persons and, more especially, as a member and chair of the CARTA Board of Management between 2015 and 2018. Prof. Buyinza made great contributions to CARTA's strategic direction over the years, and, more specifically, we acknowledge the doors he opened in facilitating CARTA’s vibrant presence at Makerere. Through him, CARTA's visibility and gains at the university were greatly enhanced.
We wish Prof. Buyinza the very best in his current and future assignments at Makerere and look forward to continued interaction with him as part of the CARTA family.
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Funding: Impact of Climate Change on Health
Makerere University School of Public Health hosted a five-day training of trainers (ToT) for CARTA's Academic, Professional, and Administrative Staff (APAS) workshop on July 17 - 21, 2023. The workshop sought to strengthen institutional responsiveness to graduate training and research and enable trainees to effectively facilitate APAS workshops for their units, in line with CARTA's mainstreaming efforts. In attendance were 37 faculty members, who were joined by Prof. Meshack Amos Obonyo and Dr. Salome Guchu from the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA). Together, they engaged in discussions about enhancing the School's collaboration with regional partners. Details
Deadline: September 19, 2023
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Funding: Mental Health Award - Understanding how anxiety- and trauma-related problems develop, persist, and resolve
Wellcome’s mental health strategic aim is to drive a transformative change in our ability to intervene as early as possible in the course of anxiety, depression and psychosis, in ways that reflect the priorities and needs of people who experience these problems. This call will fund research that advances scientific understanding of the causal mechanisms through which brain, body, and environment interact over time in the development, persistence, and resolution of anxiety- and trauma-related disorders. The duration of funding is up to five years, to a maximum of £4 million, and open to applicants based anywhere in the world (apart from mainland China). Details.
Preliminary application deadline: November 4, 2023
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Fellowship: National Humanities Center Residential Fellowships 2024–2025
The National Humanities Center invites applications for academic-year or one-semester residential fellowships. Mid-career, senior, and emerging scholars from all areas of the humanities with a strong record of peer-reviewed work are encouraged to apply. Scholars from all parts of the globe are eligible; stipends and travel expenses are provided. Fellowship applicants must have a PhD or equivalent scholarly credentials. Fellowships are supported by the Center’s own endowment, private foundation grants, contributions from alumni and friends, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Details
Deadline: October 5, 2023
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Fellowship: OPR African Visiting Fellows Program
The Office of Population Research at Princeton University invites applications for its African Visiting Fellow Program. The fellowship is for applicants based in African universities and research institutions with a track record of excellent research or policy work in African demography and population studies. It is intended to provide outstanding African scholars time and support to focus on their research, as well as foster collaboration and strong networks between OPR and scholars and institutions based in Africa. Support is intended to be provided to at least one junior scholar (no more than 10 years post-PhD, and/or a scholar at the lecturer or postdoc level) and at least one senior scholar each year. All applicants must have a PhD or equivalent qualification. Details
Deadline: November 30, 2023
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Forum: National Health Research Forum
Registration is now open for Research!America’s 2023 National Health Research Forum. The Forum is designed to engage our audience in discussions with top federal officials, research leaders, and distinguished national media as we explore health and R&D-related issues that are vital to the well-being of our nation, our economy, and patients in the U.S. and across the globe. This year’s theme is Straight Talk. It will highlight hard-won advances against deadly and debilitating health threats, discuss approaches to remaining challenges, and identify opportunities to leverage our successes to accelerate the pace and reach of progress going forward. Register for day one (virtual) and day two (in-person, Washington, DC).
Event dates: September 19 - 20, 2023
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Forum: AfriSummit 2023
AfriSummit 2023, taking place in Cairo, Egypt, is a prominent summit dedicated to addressing the challenges and opportunities facing the African continent in pharma and medical device regulations. It is a platform where leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, scholars, and activists come together to discuss, strategize, and collaborate on shaping Africa's regulations of pharma and medical device/medtech. Through sharing knowledge, workshops, trainings, and networking opportunities, as well as panel discussions. AfriSummit 2023 seeks to inspire and mobilize African leaders and stakeholders to take proactive steps towards creating a prosperous and healthier Africa.
Event dates: October 8 - 11, 2023
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Access a wide range of opportunities related to global health research here:
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Disclaimer:
The opportunities CARTA shares are mostly from external parties. Linking to an external site does not constitute endorsement by CARTA. For more opportunities, visit our website.
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Podcast: Global Health Unfiltered!
The Global Health Unfiltered Podcast is a groundbreaking series that shines a light on the contributions of Africans to global health challenges and discusses decolonization from the perspective of African researchers and practitioners. The podcast was founded in response to the harmful misconception that Africa is plagued with problems and incapable of solving them without help from High-Income Countries, which fails to recognize the contributions of local leaders and communities on the continent. The podcast features insightful interviews and engaging discussions on a range of topics in global health, including health equity, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, health policy, and more. Learn more
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WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU | |
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To be featured in the next CARTA Monthly, share with us your news and updates
via email to cartacomms@cartafrica.org on or before September 28, 2023.
Submissions should include but are not limited to:
upcoming events, meetings, story ideas, new collaborations, new trials/updates, upcoming and published papers, policy briefs, community engagement activities, scholarships, what you are reading, if you won a grant, attending or about an upcoming conference, a call for applications/funding/papers, etc.
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