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News & Updates
April 2024 Edition, Issue 76
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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
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Internal Strategy Meeting
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CARTA directors Sharon Fonn and Catherine Kyobutungi convened an internal strategic thinking session meeting with the secretariat at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) offices on April 23-24, 2024. The meeting aimed to foster a shared understanding of CARTA’s future strategy and to prepare for upcoming engagements with CARTA partners and stakeholders to define CARTA’s future. The Partners Forum in September will include another two days of strategic discussions, and further engagements are expected before and after that meeting.
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The Initiative to Strengthen Community and Public Engagement (CPE) Activities
Our Community and Public Engagement focal person, Erick Muge, recently attended a two-day workshop on community and public engagement (CPE) that was organized by the Science for Africa Foundation for all the DELTAS II consortia on April 23-24, 2024, in Nairobi. The workshop’s main objective was to develop a comprehensive community and public engagement plan that could bridge the gap between scientific communities and the public. This gap often results in a lack of shared knowledge, shared decision-making, and co-creation of science, ultimately leading to non-contextualized and unsustainable research and innovations.
During the workshop, SFA emphasized three key CPE activities that our consortium could implement: capacity strengthening in community engagement, building trust in science, and advocacy to change the mindset on community engagement. Hence, the key takeaway from the workshop is the necessity to enhance engagement with society as our CARTA2025 strategic objective 4. This entails implementing the three SFA Community and Public Engagement (CPE) activities.
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11 CARTA Fellows Triumph with Postdoctoral Awards
CARTA awarded postdoctoral awards to 11 fellows in competitive selection. The awards include seven re-entry grants and four fellowships. Supporting them is essential to nurture their growth and maximize their potential through mentorship, access to resources, and collaborative opportunities. Below is the complete list of the awardees:
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Appointments and Promotions
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Nomfundo Moroe (cohort 6, University of the Witwatersrand) was appointed Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Studies (Humanities) on April 1, 2024. Until the promotion, she has been serving as the department’s Postgraduate studies coordinator, a role she assumed in January 2022.
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Priscille Musabirema (cohort 9, University of Rwanda) was appointed School Postgraduate Program Coordinator in the School of Nursing and Midwifery on April 4, 2024. Priscille was a lecturer in the school from January 2019 to March 2024.
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Sulaimon Adedokun (cohort 1, Obafemi Awolowo University) was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Demography and Social Statistics on April 24, 2024. Until his promotion, he has been serving as a senior lecturer in the department, a role he assumed in January 2019.
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Judith Mangeni (cohort 3, Moi University) was awarded an R01 grant for the project titled ‘Real-World Impact of Next Generation Insecticidal Nets for Malaria Control in Rural Western Kenya’ from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on April 1, 2024. The grant will run for five years, from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2029.
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Yes, We Can End TB, but What is the Progress in the Battle Against Tuberculosis?
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In honor of World Tuberculosis Day, Lilian Njagi (cohort 9, University of Nairobi) shares her perspectives on tuberculosis. She draws attention to the continuous battle against the contagious illness. The TB epidemic still exists today, accounting for almost 11 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths annually, despite tremendous progress. As a parting shot, she emphasized that governments, organizations, communities, and patients need to work together, involve communities and patients in decisions about their health, collaborate globally, focus on strategies to prevent TB and provide good care, and support the discovery and development of vaccines. Read more
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University of Ibadan Strengthens Capacity for 28 Senior Staff and 150 Doctoral Candidates
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The University of Ibadan, Nigeria, recently conducted two local workshops based on the CARTA intervention. The Supervisors Workshop took place from April 2 to 5, 2024, and was attended by 28 senior academic staff who discussed the dynamics of PhD supervision. The PhD training workshop, also known as the Joint Advanced Seminars, was held from April 22 to 25, 2024, and was attended by 150 year-one doctoral candidates. These workshops were part of the university’s newly launched Doctoral Academy program, which aims to align the doctoral degree programs with the increasing demand for key transferable skills in addition to traditional cognitive-based subjects.
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Funding: Wellcome Early-Career Awards
The Wellcome scheme provides funding for early-career researchers from any discipline ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding related to human life, health, and well-being. Details
Deadline: May 21, 2024
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Funding: Understanding Dengue and Zika Spread, Immunity, and Clinical Outcomes
Dengue and Zika viruses are closely related flaviviruses that share common mosquito vectors and are known to co-circulate in human populations. Data on their epidemiology and disease burden are limited in critical geographical regions, especially in Africa and Asia. This call aims to fund projects exploring the effects of dengue and Zika co-circulation on host immune responses and clinical outcomes, focusing on areas where epidemiological and immunological data are limited or underused. Details
Deadline: June 25, 2024
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Funding: Wellcome Career Development Awards
The Wellcome scheme provides funding for mid-career researchers from any discipline who have the potential to be international research leaders. These researchers will develop their research capabilities, drive innovative work programs, and deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health, and well-being. Details
Deadline: July 25, 2024
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Funding: The AAS Olusegun Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and/or Technological Innovation 2024
The Olusegun Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and/or Technological Innovation is intended to reward and honor African scientists who have made outstanding contributions to scientific discovery or technological innovation. The Africa Academy of Science (AAS) seeks to promote and foster the growth of vibrant African scientific communities and to stimulate and nurture the spirit of scientific discovery and technological innovation that would serve socio-economic development in Africa. Follow this link to access the AAS Ishango Online System, create your username, and follow the steps.
Deadline: May 3, 2024
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Call for Abstracts: REDCap Africa Symposium 2024
The 2024 annual REDCap Africa Symposium. The event will be held on October 23-24, 2024, hosted by Wits Biomedical Informatics & Translational Science (WitsBITS) in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand and Wits Health Consortium (WHC). Click here to register and here to submit an abstract.
Abstract Submission Deadline: August 30, 2024
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Training Opportunity: 9th Research4Life MOOC
Research4Life is a knowledge platform that provides access to up to 200,000 leading journals, books, and other resources in the fields of health, agriculture, environment, innovation, and law. Registrations are open for the 9th edition of the Research4Life Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). This free five-week course, which is taught in English, will run from May 27 to June 30, 2024. Details
Deadline: May 12, 2024
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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.
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West Africa Grant Writing Workshop
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Office of Global Research, the Government of Ghana, will convene a series of grant writing workshops for researchers in West Africa. The workshops aim to teach West African investigators best practices for writing and submitting grant proposals to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and will be organized and facilitated by instructors from Grant Writing Mentors. Click here for registration details.
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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 May 25, 2024.
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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