Expanding the pool of Independent Investigators in Implementation Science in Nigeria throug h HIV research training (EXPAND)

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
For more than 15 years, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHV-Nigeria or IHVN) has partnered with
the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland Baltimore (IHV-UMB) to train Nigerian
researchers both locally and in the US. This has resulted in 51 Masters and PhD-holders engaged in HIV
research and leadership careers at IHVN’s International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE) and at
collaborating universities and institutions throughout Nigeria. IRCE was established in 2015 to drive IHV-
Nigeria’s research mission: to increase the volume, quality, and capacity for research in Nigeria and West
Africa. To harness their prior training and exponentially increase their impact, it is imperative to mature these
early (trained) investigators into independent (skilled) investigators. In addition, it is important for Nigerian
public health programs that implementers and policymakers have complementary program evaluation and
knowledge translation skills, to address HIV and other health priorities and gaps. The focus of this submission
is to expand local expertise in responding to Nigeria’s HIV epidemic by addressing research leadership gaps
among investigators, and program evaluation and knowledge translation gaps among implementers and
policymakers.
The proposed Expanding the Pool of Independent Investigators in Implementation Science in Nigeria
through HIV research training (EXPAND Nigeria) has four specific aims. Specific Aim 1: To launch a 12-
month, implementation science design-integrated HIV research training curriculum at IRCE, delivered on a
hybrid virtual and in-person platform. Specific Aim 2: To mentor and develop a cohort of five early career
MD and/or PhD-holding scientists trained with the Aim 1 curriculum, to compete for independent research
funding that addresses HIV research priorities relevant to Nigeria. Specific Aim 3: To transition skilled early
career investigators from Aim 2 into active and productive research positions at IRCE and collaborating
academic and public health institutions in Nigeria. Specific Aim 4: Using the hard skills subset of modules
from the Aim 1 curriculum, to provide short-term, six-month training for a multidisciplinary cohort of 40
program implementers and policymakers, to design and conduct priority HIV program evaluations and
translate findings into policy and practice.
Outcomes of the proposal include a scalable training curriculum addressing local research capacity and skills
gaps; skilled researchers in a supportive environment that launches and keeps them in a research trajectory;
and institutional research leadership successfully transitioned from IHV-UMB to IHV-Nigeria, with IHV-UMB
remaining as a long-term training and research partner.

Grant Number: 5D43TW012280-04
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Alash'le Abimiku