Research Sites by Region

Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo” Santa Cruz and Clínica Foianini

Founded in 1966 in La Paz, Bolivia, Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo” Santa Cruz (UCB-Santa Cruz) is the oldest private university in Bolivia, with formal integration into the Bolivian university system in 1974. The Santa Cruz de la Sierra campus was established in 1993, with additional campuses in Cochabamba and Tarija. UCB offers 70 degree programs to 14,500 undergraduate and graduate students with 11 research institutes, 17 research centers, and 108 research faculty. The UCB-Santa Cruz campus offers undergraduate degree courses in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, and biomedical engineering and a PhD program in health sciences.

Clínica Foianini is one of the premier private medical institutions in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Founded in 1981, the hospital employs 561 medical providers in 61 specialties, is internationally accredited by the Instituto Técnico para la Accreditación de Esablecimientos de Salud (ITAES), and has a well-established Department of Training, Research, and Ethics.

Since 2015, Dr. Marissa Boeck, faculty at University of California, San Francisco, Dr. German Toledo, Dean of the Medical School, Director of the Medical Research Institute, and Director of the Center for Public Health at UCB-Santa Cruz, and Dr. Esteban Foianini, Medical Director at Clínica Foianini, have collaborated on global public health projects, with a specific focus on trauma and surgical system strengthening. These projects have also involved leaders at local public hospitals, first responder groups, community members, and the municipal and regional health departments. Former U.S. research fellow projects have spanned the disciplines of surgery, trauma, emergency medicine, and public health, with the potential for involvement of additional fields in the future.

Site contacts: Dr. Marissa Boeck and Dr. German Toledo

Fundación Cimas del Ecuador

Fundación Cimas del Ecuador (CIMAS) is an Ecuadorian nonprofit organization, with a mission to facilitate human development, aimed at promoting social equity. CIMAS supports environmental, social, cultural, and health research, with focus on health with an intercultural, gender, and generational-based perspective. CIMAS has offered academic, research activities, field observations and internships, providing training for U.S. institutions since 1990, with collaborations with the University of California San Diego since 2013. CIMAS has provided training to over 800 students since its inception in 1990.

For 30 years, CIMAS has participated in community-based action/research and interventions with the rural parish governments in Pedro Moncayo County, Pichincha province, Ecuador. To support this work, CIMAS implemented a local geo-referenced community information system in 2004, which includes social, behavioral, cultural, economic, reproductive, housing and agricultural information on more than 12,000 individuals.

Since 2008, UCSD has collaborated with CIMAS on the NIH-funded study of secondary exposures to pesticides among children and adolescents’ study (ESPINA). ESPINA is a prospective cohort study (next follow-up planned for 2022) aimed at assessing the associations of exposures to pesticides with the development of children living in agricultural settings (Pedro Moncayo County). Currently, CIMAS collaborates on four active NIH-funded studies covering a range of health assessments including neurobehavior, mental health, endocrine, inflammation, hemodynamic, respiratory, enzymatic, and metabolomic assessments.

CIMAS is located in the North Eastern part of Quito, and includes administrative offices, research areas, an auditorium, 15 classrooms and seminar areas, a library, computer lab, kitchen and dining areas, and recreational areas.

Site contact: Dr. José Suárez

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH)

Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) is the premier biomedical sciences university and research center in Peru and a recognized leader in Latin America, leading all but one of the 28 currently active NIH grants in Peru according to the NIH Reporter. UPCH world-class global health research generates unique mentored research training opportunities for prospective fellows on emerging, infectious, tropical and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, substance use/abuse, climate change and one health.

UPCH has had decades of productive research collaborations with multiple UC campuses such as with UCLA/UCSF on HIV/AIDS/STDs (Coates, Kegeles, Clark & Konda), malaria with UCSD (Winzeler & Vinetz) and One Health and emerging diseases with UC Davis (Foley), among many others. NIH research grants support most of this work, and efforts are complemented with multiple D43 training grants on both non-communicable and HIV/non-HIV infectious diseases, and also fellowship grants.

UPCH has field, clinical, laboratory, computational and animal experimentation facilities spread across Peru’s mega-diverse ecological regions: the Amazon Basin, highlands up to 22,000 feet and 2400 kilometers of Pacific coast. Additional world-class resources and assets are brought by a broad network of Peruvian and foreign partners including among many others the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 (NAMRU-6), Asociación Civil Vía Libre and Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía.

UPCH fellows can attend on-site or virtual coursework on research methods, biostatistics, epidemiology, bioethics and responsible conduct of research, in addition to Epidemiology master’s and doctorates, programs mostly developed by a longstanding NIH D43 training grant. Highly-capable institutional and GloCal-dedicated research administration teams support our activities. All research follows rigorous, Peruvian Ministry of Health-approved COVID-19 biosafety protocols.

Site contact: Dr. Andrés G. (Willy) Lescano

Universidad Católica San Pablo: Neuroscience Lab

Universidad Católica San Pablo (UCSP) is an academic community located in Arequipa, Peru. It is inspired by the orientations and life of the Catholic Church, which seeks the truth and promotes the formation of the whole person through activities such as research, teaching and extension.

In research, UCSP has financed more than 40 projects and more than 45 have been also financed by other institutions and programs such as CONCYTEC (National Council of Science and Technology), “Innóvate Perú” and the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. As a result of the research work, approximately 300 research papers have been published.

Currently, researchers at UCSP’s Neuroscience in collaboration with researchers from University of California of San Francisco (UCSF), are working to validate the Tablet-based Cognitive Assessment Tool (TabCat) in preclinical dementia phases in older people with low educational levels. Researchers Drs. Marcio Soto and Nilton Custodio are the project’s mentors and Dr. Serggio Lanata from UCSF is the project’s coordinator.

UCSP Neuroscience Lab offers research opportunities in: 1) validating brief cognitive tests in preclinical and clinical phases of dementia in people with low educational level or illiterates; 2) neurophysiological biomarkers in pre-clinical phases of dementia with EEG; 3) genetic and environmental risk factors for dementia and 4) machine learning approach to characterize and predict neurodegenerative diseases with multimodal data (clinical, behavioral, neuroimaging and socio-economic factors). Study sites include several cities in southern Peru and rural areas of Arequipa.

Facilities include space for doctoral and postdoctoral students and state-of-the-art technological equipment to formulate experiments, analyze data, and prepare manuscripts for publication. Furthermore, the lab has a Gesell camera and behavioral evaluating rooms for clinical and research purpose and an exclusive room for neurophysiological recordings with an EEG of 64 active electrodes channels.

UCSP Neuroscience Lab’s vision is to promote an interdisciplinary approach to cognitive, behavioral and emotional well-being in southern Peru, through mentoring and research training programs. Its purpose is to actively develop world-class research projects with the purpose of solving scientific and societal problems that affect us all, especially the elderly in Peru and Latin America.

Site Contact: Dr. Marcio Soto

Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative (BSRHI)

The Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative is a collaboration between University of Botswana (UB), Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) and US universities including UCSF, UCSD, UCLA, USC, UPenn and Harvard, hosted by the Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative (BSRHI). The site offers research and training opportunities focused on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) including contraception, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), maternal health, women’s cancers, HIV (including advanced HIV and opportunistic infections) and tuberculosis.

BSRHI is a partnership run through BHP and in collaboration with UB, the Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW), local NGOs and international collaborators. They are committed to interdisciplinary research, teaching and training, and policy advancement to address issues relevant to improving people’s health in Southern Africa by strengthening local capacity, contributing to international scientific advancements, presenting on the world stage, and inspiring junior investigators to pursue global health careers.

BHP was established in 1996 as a research and training initiative, focusing on HIV/AIDS and has since expanded into many other areas of health research. BHP hosts numerous large-scale grants funded by organizations such as the NIH, CDC, MRC, Wellcome Trust and EDCTP. The main BHP facilities are based in Gaborone at Princess Marina Hospital, Botswana’s main referral/teaching hospital. BHP has state-of-the-art facilities with excellent clinical research capacity, infrastructure for the administration of word-class clinical and translational research programs, laboratory facilities, including the Botswana-Harvard HIV reference laboratory, research office space and research clinics in Gaborone and across the country. BHP has in-country health informatics and data-management capacity. BHP benefits from its partnership with UB, the main tertiary academic institution in Botswana, and its strong links to the Botswana MoHW and local NGOs. The Botswana GloCal site has eight full-time in-country clinical/academic faculty members who can serve as GloCal mentors, offering hands-on, in-depth mentorship in a range of disciplines and research methodologies (e.g., clinical medicine, public health, implementation science, epidemiology, laboratory science, social science, health economics) and who have significant mentoring and research experience.

Congo Basin Institute (CBI)

The Congo Basin Institute (CBI) was UCLA’s first foreign affiliate in its 100-year history and represented the university’s commitment to working collaboratively with local communities around the globe. CBI offers training opportunities in infectious diseases and planetary health required to address the needs of the Central African region.

CBI is dedicated to helping address the complex and diverse challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa, while also upholding UCLA’s core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion through a deliberately collaborative and equitable approach to international research and education. It is built on years of collaborative research between UCLA and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) focused on biodiversity, zoonotic disease transmission, adaptation to climate change, and agricultural production. As part of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research and education programs, UCLA and IITA conduct research and host multiple professional development workshops for groups of American and African students and researchers at the CBI campus. UCLA and IITA are currently implementing numerous research programs including Enhancing Novel Research and Education Capacity in Central Africa (2019-2021); Tracing the Geographic Origins and Trade Routes of Trafficked African Pangolin Products Using Modern Genomic Methods (2019-2022); GCRF Trade, Development and the Environment (TRADE) Hub - interdisciplinary research hubs to address intractable challenges faced by developing countries (2019 – 2024). Multiple sites in Cameroon are also involved in ongoing NIH-funded research projects in several regions (R21TW010956, R21TW010453) and our partnership has several funding applications currently submitted (U54TW012087, D43TW012186, R21TW011592).

The Program for the Advancement of Surgical Equity under the Department of Surgery at UCLA has a long-term collaboration with the University of Buea and the Ministry of Public Health in Cameroon. This strategic partnership focuses on strengthening trauma and surgical care systems in Cameroon through improving equitable access to care, quality improvement initiatives, and mobile health interventions.

University of Ghana (UG)

For nearly 30 years, the University of Ghana has collaborated with UC Davis in research and capacity building: many key studies in maternal and child nutrition have been completed or are underway in Ghana, and several Ghanaians have received their Ph.D. from UC Davis and have returned to UG or continued to work in the international arena. UCSF has also recently started some collaborative projects in Ghana on person-centered maternity care and COVID-19 effects on health care workers.

UG faculty's research areas include infectious and non-communicable diseases, mental health, climate change, maternal and child health and nutrition, nutrition and child development, and blood safety and availability. Elements that make UG a strong partner include:

• Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) which promotes, coordinates, and facilitates research activities, as well as manages external research funds.
• International Programs Office (IPO) coordinates and promotes relationswith international students and scholars. It has a variety of services, including assistance with accommodation, immigration issues, and local culture.

UG also collaborates with several other research institutions, such as the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research; Centre for Tropical, Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics; the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens; the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement; and the West African Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC).

Site contact: Dr. Seth Adu Afarwuah

Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)

In collaboration with Maseno University and the University of Nairobi

The KEMRI-UCSF collaboration was founded in 1995 by Drs. Cohen (UCSF) and Bukusi (KEMRI). In 2004, they began Family AIDS Care & Education Services (FACES), a Centers for Disease Control (CDC)/President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)-funded program to provide HIV care, treatment and preventative services in the western region of Kenya. FACES has supported HIV treatment to more than 170,000 people at over 148 Ministry of Health facilities and supports an expanding array of transdisciplinary clinical and implementation research funded by NIH, CDC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and other agencies. Current projects include the following: 1) East Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS; 2) An agricultural intervention for food security and HIV health outcomes in Kenya; 3) A community model to improve cervical cancer screening and treatment; 4) Integration of sexual and reproductive health services into HIV care and treatment including transforming gender norms to improve family planning uptake; 5) The SEARCH trial; 7) Mental health and HIV; 8) HPV vaccination; 9) PrEP implementation trials; and 10) HIV prevention with long-acting pills (IMPOWER).

KEMRI and collaborating UC mentors cover a wide range of disciplines, including epidemiology, biostatistics, pediatrics, neurology, sociology, mental health, women's and adolescent health, anthropology and migration and health. Drs. Cohen, Weiser (UCSF), Bukusi and Ndunyu (Maseno University) lead the FIC-supported “The Sustainable Development for HIV Health (SD4H) Training Program” that provides intensive graduate training for Kenyan PhD and MSc candidates with a focus on improving HIV health outcomes through innovative food security and poverty alleviation interventions. In addition, KEMRI collaborates with faculty and trainees from UC Davis on childhood nutrition and planetary health projects, and UC Riverside on projects associated with the emerging HIV epidemic among injection drug users directed by formative a former GloCal fellow, now Associate Professor Jennifer Syvertsen. Professor Guiyun Yan at UC Irvine has a 25-year collaboration with KEMRI focused on malaria eradication, including a FIC D43 grant that contributes significantly to the career development of Kenyan and other African scientists by bridging laboratory and field research experience in vector and parasite biology.

The collaboration with KEMRI also includes an expanding portfolio of research and training programs with Maseno University in western Kenya (e.g. SD4H), and the University of Nairobi with the latter focused on capacity building in placental biology, reproductive health and psychiatry.

Site contact: Dr. Elizabeth Bukusi

Partners in Hope (PIH)

Partners in Hope (PIH) is a Malawian, non-governmental organization dedicated to tackling barriers to health care in resource-limited communities in Malawi, with a focus on HIV testing and treatment services. Since PIH’s founding in 2001, the Ministry of Health has continued to award PIH with certificates of excellence for HIV and ART services. The organization has a longstanding relationship as a PEPFAR implementing partner (since 2009), providing HIV care and treatment programs in 101 health facilities throughout 8 of Malawi’s 28 districts. PIH works across programs, policy, science, clinical education, and health service delivery.                         

PIH has a private medical center where patients with any condition are seen, and a PEPFAR-funded free clinic (Moyo) with more than 5,000 patients currently on ART. PIH’s ability to provide both basic and advanced HIV care, as well as its designation as a PEPFAR Care and Treatment partner, places the organization in a unique position to work fluidly across clinical and laboratory services, government systems, and private and public sectors – all of which facilitiate  implementation of high-quality public health initiatives.

PIH has a longstanding relationship with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, with over 10 years of collaboration across implementation science, clinical care, and medical education. The PIH-UCLA partnership has mobilized a multi-disciplinary and multi-national group of researchers to respond to priority questions that directly impact the quality and accessibility of HIV services. The team focuses on the intersection between: HIV and gender (i.e., how to engage men in care); HIV and other diseases (non-communicable diseases and cervical cancer screening and treatment); and HIV and quality improvement (i.e., addressing provider burnout and improving implementation of viral load programs).

Over the past five years, PIH has published more than 25 articles in top peer-reviewed journals and presented over 35 abstracts at regional and international conferences. The team also organizes a monthly brown bag series and other informal activities to encourage exchange among researchers and medical professionals. The PIH-UCLA partnership provides outstanding mentorship from Malawian and UCLA researchers, and an excellent opportunity for GloCal fellows to pursue mentored research in the areas of HIV and it’s various intersections.

Site contact: Dr. Sam Phiri

Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM)

Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) has a longstanding collaboration with three UC campuses (UCLA, UCSD and UCSF) and counterparts in Mozambique including Maputo Central Hospital (MCH), Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), and the Ministry of Health (MoH).  This collaboration provides mentoring for global health research in medicine, pediatrics, surgery, pathology, radiology, neurosciences, gynecology/obstetrics, nursing, and pharmacy. UCSD collaborations are funded by ongoing NIH research grants, a D43 training grant in biosciences and public health (Noormahomed, Schooley), PEPFAR’s Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the Health Professional Education Partnership Initiative (HEPI), UCSD-CFAR, and foundation grants.  Support from the UCSD CFAR, foundations, and the Fogarty International Center further have strengthened UCSD’s ties within Mozambique and expanded the collaboration to include additional key public Mozambican universities Lurio University (UniLurio), Zambeze University (Unizambeze), and Mozambique Pedagógica University (UPM) as well as the Higher Institute for Health Sciences (ISCISA), the Quelimane Central Hospital and the Quelimane Institute of Health Sciences (QIHS). UCLA’s collaborations in pediatrics and pediatric surgery have recently expanded from clinical training to research training. UCSF’s activities within Mozambique began with a PEPFAR-supported Monitoring and Evaluation collaboration with the MoH and now includes the Strengthening Interprofessional Education (STRIPE) project.

Mozambican entities supporting GloCal activities include two NGOs (the Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER) and a UCSF-affiliated NGO. MIHER has the capacity to manage US government funds and supports two translational research laboratories at UEM. MIHER also trains local administrative personnel to manage regulatory documents related to human subject research and to support University and NGO-based research throughout Mozambique.  MIHER owns a three-bedroom apartment in Maputo to support visiting GloCal fellows.

Site contact: Dr. Emilia Virginia Noormahomed

Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF)

The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF) is internationally acclaimed for its contributions to HIV and TB research. DTHF is a not-for-profit organization and operates in an integrated and synergistic manner with the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre (DTHC) within the University of Cape Town (UCT). Together they form a Centre of Excellence focusing on research, community awareness and resource development in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and TB. Over the past five years, DTHF faculty and researchers have published more than 300 papers.

DTHF’s main research activities are divided into the following research divisions, all of which are available for potential GloCal fellows as projects allow: HIV Treatment and Prevention; Adolescent Health; Socio-Behavioural Sciences; Tuberculosis; Women and Reproductive Health; Men’s’ Health; Sexual Health; Key Populations. In addition, DTHF has recently established a research site in Buffalo City Metro Health District (BCM), Eastern Cape (EC) Province. DTHF-EC aims to support and add to the growing research infrastructure and output from this historically underserved province.

Though DTHF became a new GloCal research site in South Africa in 2021, its site lead is Dr. Andrew Medina-Marino, who was the site lead for Foundation for Professional Development (FPD), GloCal’s previous research site in South Africa. GloCal fellows will have access to world-class field research sites in both Cape Town and BCM, community-engagement and administrative support, implementation and data management support, as well as high speed internet.

Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)

MUHAS is the leading higher learning institution for health sciences in Tanzania. Currently, MUHAS offers seven pre-degree, 15 undergraduate and 81 postgraduate programs, and trains over 85% of the country’s medical, laboratory, and public health specialists. The university also takes the leading role in research in biomedical sciences in the country, having the greatest number of research projects and publications. MUHAS’ vision is to provide quality training, research, and services in health and related fields for attainment of equitable socioeconomic development for the Tanzanian community and beyond.

MUHAS recently updated their research agenda to highlight 15 priority research themes, including: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, reproductive health, child health, non-communicable diseases, injuries, health systems, neglected tropical diseases, health professions education, antimicrobial resistance, social determinants of health, mental health, oral/dental health, and bioethics. These align with the Tanzania Government’s research priorities as well as the UN’s health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

MUHAS has long-standing collaborations in training and research with the University of California. Currently, the MUHAS-UCSF collaboration includes two FIC-funded training grants, the Transforming Health Professions Education in Tanzania (Kwesigabo, R25TW011227) and Building a Cancer Research Training Program in Tanzania (Van Loon, D43TW011598). Additionally, for more than 10 years the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has partnered with MUHAS and the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) on both educational and research initiatives, including bidirectional exchange of trainees, an annual educational course, and dozens of research projects and clinical trials. Further collaboration around surgical diseases is currently focused on education and training, capacity building, and research in general and minimally invasive, vascular, and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, among other subspecialties. Other ongoing collaborative research programs are in the areas of HIV, sickle cell disease, and pediatric sepsis.

MUHAS looks forward to continued participation in the GloCal consortium as a way to sustain pivotal mentored research of junior scientists and support the institution in developing further research expertise and health impact.

Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI)

The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) is a Ugandan non-government organization owned by Makerere University with the mission: “To strengthen health systems in Africa through research and capacity building”. IDI provides comprehensive services for over 250,000 people with HIV and other infectious diseases in Uganda. It is unique in resource-limited settings as a one-stop site for mentees providing access to patients, samples, CAP certified laboratory, translational laboratory, statistic support, a variety training and short courses.

The research program hosts more than 100 research projects. The program has several collaborations with institutions based in the US and Europe; IDI collaborates with UCSF on a U54 project on Kaposi Sarcoma (PI: Martin J). Key areas of research are HIV and HIV related co-infection and cancers (clinical and lab based). Fellows can leverage existing programs, particularly the HIV clinic located at the Mulago site which hosts specialized services and grants on sexual and reproductive health, mental health, non-communicable diseases, treatment failure, Kaposi sarcoma diagnostic, TB co-infections and two ongoing cohorts (along-term outcomes cohort and a geriatric cohort).

While working within their proposed projects, all scholars and research fellows at IDI are offered training through orientation, journal clubs, research fellows peer support club, a short course on scientific writing, monthly soft skills training (e.g. how to formulate a research questions, how to present, PowerPoint skills etc.), and a weekly research forum.

The research capacity building unit within the research department provides infrastructural support, management of finances, administrative and regulatory support and oversight, internal monitoring, and the IDI scholars community for peer support and exchange.

For trainees with lab-based projects, the research translational lab has a microbiology section (BACTEC machine, incubators, biosafety cabinets, fluorescent microscopes (iLED Primostar Zeiss & Zeiss mercury vapor lamp), a molecular section (RT-PCR machine (AB 7500), convectional PCR, bio-fire machines, Gene Xpert) , an immunology section (FACS Canto II flow cytometer, MiniMACs cell separator, Luminex MAGPIX, ELISA washer and plate reader), and a PK section (2 HPLC machines and a mass spectrophotometer). 

Site contact: Dr. Barbara Castelnuovo

Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC)

The Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC) is a not-for-profit organization, established in 2008 by Ugandan health scientists from Makerere University and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to conduct research in infectious diseases. IDRC has active memoranda of understanding with Makerere University, MoH and UCSF to conduct research in infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. The mission of IDRC is to conduct high-quality research in infectious and other diseases of public health importance through collaboration and partnerships. Specific objectives including: I) To build capacity through training, technology advancement and improvement of local health service infrastructure; II) To conduct research in infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases of public importance; III) To disseminate results of research and promote an evidence-based approach to policy making by linking researchers and policy makers; IV) To support the efforts of the Uganda Ministry of Health, Mulago Hospital and other health institutions in Uganda in prevention, care and treatment of infectious diseases.

The collaboration includes over thirty faculty at MU and UCSF, with a budget of $10 million and over 50 publications annually. Some of the important projects that could be leveraged for training future GloCal fellows include:

• A Multisectoral Strategy to Address Persistent Drivers of the HIV Epidemic in East Africa.
• Program for Resistance, Immunology, Surveillance, and Modeling of Malaria in Uganda.
• Optimal chemo-preventive regimens to prevent malaria and improve birth outcomes in Uganda.
• Integrated HIV/HTN, (Leveraging the HIV platform for hypertension control in Uganda).
• Programs studying immune responses to malaria infection, antimalarial drug resistance and treatment efficacy, antiretroviral therapy initiation, HIV-associated pneumonia, and TB.

FIC, GloCal, K43 and G11 funded programs have trained and built capacity of over 80 Ugandan junior scientists and administrators. IDRC has facilities and resources with over 20 administrators to support trainees. The facilities include office space at its headquarters and research sites in Tororo, Mbale and Mbarara; a reference malaria laboratory; a research infrastructure for clinical, translational, and molecular research; and modern data management centers in Kampala and Tororo.

Site contact: Dr. Moses Kamya

Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium (U-TIRC)

Established in 2008, the Uganda TB Implementation Research Consortium (U-TIRC) is a collaboration of research scientists at Makerere University led by Dr. Achilles Katamba, public health officials at the Uganda Ministry of Health and the Uganda National TB and Leprosy Programme in Uganda, and research scientists at UCSF and other institutions. U-TIRC focuses on improving TB diagnosis and care by undertaking high-quality clinical, epidemiological and implementation science research that seeks to identify barriers to TB prevention and care, develop strategies to address the barriers, and evaluate the uptake and impact of these strategies.

U-TIRC facilitates higher-level training of Ugandans through the NIH D43 Pulmonary Complications of AIDS Research Training (PART) program, which supports a number of trainees currently pursuing PhD or Masters degrees. PART trainees are paired with a mentor to work on a project focused on pulmonary complications of HIV/AIDS and are provided funding and mentorship support for up to 3 years. In addition, trainees have an opportunity to attend modular courses on mixed methods and implementation science (ImS). Both courses are organized in a series of four workshops spread over the course of one-year with work in-progress sessions in between.  The mixed methods course covers mixed methods design, data collection and analysis and manuscript writing. The ImS course covers introduction to ImS, individual/ organizational behavior change strategies; stakeholder engagement, implementation frameworks; study design and evaluation; and manuscript writing. U-TIRC currently supports 20 PART trainees and has over 25 alumni from the program.

In 2019, U-TIRC shifted its administrative base from Makerere University to WALIMU, a local non-government organization. Walimu/U-TIRC provides in-country logistical, personnel/human resources, grants management, accounting, procurement, customs clearance, computing/ information technology, secretarial and ancillary support. Walimu/U-TIRC maintains dedicated office space for investigators with access to telephone service, desktop computer, scanner, printer, and locked file cabinets. Conference call facilities to support interactions with US-based investigators and staff are available using a voice-over-internet protocol connection provided by Zoom. Current research staff include 10 project coordinators, 45 research assistants and 7 administrative staff. Current projects have developed research infrastructure at >40 health centers in 30 districts of the country.

Center for Disease Research Zambia

CIDRZ is an independent, local, non-governmental health organization that has been an active partner of the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Health (MoH), and other ministries since 2001. The CIDRZ mission is to improve access to quality healthcare through innovative capacity development, implementation science and research, and impactful and sustainable public health programs. The CIDRZ team, with strong academic partnerships with prominent institutions including UCSF, UCD, UNC, UAB, and, Washington University, utilize progressive and collaborative approaches to develop research, health services, and training initiatives with measurable results in HIV prevention, HIV/AIDS care and treatment, tuberculosis prevention and control, sexual and reproductive health, newborn and child health, mental health and wellness, and community outreach.

Since 2013, UCSF has been engaged in research in collaboration with CIDRZ, and since 2018, has been involved in a highly productive research partnership with the CIDRZ Tuberculosis Department leading to significant insights of public health importance to Zambia and other high TB burden settings. Additionally, the University of California, Davis and CIDRZ have worked together since 2016, focusing primarily on HIV research collaborations on projects, from mobile health (mHealth) implementation to HIV/NCD co-morbidity, providing care delivery insights, innovations, and guiding policy review in Zambia and in the region.

CIDRZ has a training unit committed to growing researchers through internship and fellowship placements. With a focus on providing research and public health training opportunities to promising Zambian early- and mid-career professionals, CIDRZ strives to develop local expertise and provide critical evidence to move policy forward. The CIDRZ faculty and visiting university mentors provide junior researchers a rich environment in which to grow research methods and practice through structured one-on-one guidance and support. CIDRZ has hosted global health corps fellowships and has experience quickly integrating visiting fellows into work and life in Lusaka.

Site contact: Jake M. Pry (jmpry@ucdavis.edu), Andrew Kerkhoff (andrew.kerkhoff@ucsf.edu), Tamara Moyo Tembo (tamara.tembo@cidrz.org)

University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Established in 1994 by faculty from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the UZ-UCSF Clinical Trials Unit continues to serve as a center of excellence in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and TB, contributing to global understanding of HIV epidemiology and pathogenesis, and global and Zimbabwean health policy, while developing scientific capacity and mentoring the next generation of public health research leaders in Zimbabwe. The UZ-UCSF CTU is led by Drs. Z. Mike Chirenje (UCSF, UZ), Tsungai Chipato (UZ), Felix Mhlanga (UZ) and Mike Mbizvo (UZ) and employs 248 staff across seven research sites in Harare and Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Over 10,000 adults, adolescents and children have been enrolled into over 100 HIV and TB prevention and treatment research studies at the CTU, in collaboration with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Division of AIDS Networks and the recently established COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network (CoVPN). The CTU’s work continues to lay the groundwork for future cutting-edge and impactful HIV, TB, and now COVID-19, research in Zimbabwe.

The research site is supported by a large and diverse research funding portfolio, including the CTU award through 2027 (NIH/NIAID UM1AI069436) and several NIH-funded mentoring and training programs including the Fogarty Partnership in Education Training and Research Advancement (PETRA) award (1R25TW011215), and Training for Research Excellence and Mentorship in Tuberculosis (TRENT) award (N2D43TW009539).

GloCal mentors at UZ cover a wide range of disciplines including epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical trials, qualitative research, adolescent health, obstetrics, gynecology, pharmacology, psychiatry, histopathology, microbiology, laboratory science, and sexual and reproductive health. The UZ-UCSF CTU has robust and effective mentoring support structures including an annual scientific writing workshop led by UCSF and UZ faculty with support year-round; a weekly “Journal Club” which serves as a “works-in-progress” platform, and is attended by senior and junior investigators, mentees and students; and the CTU’s Annual Research Day, an opportunity for UZ and UCSF CTU investigators and mentees to present and learn about the latest results of CTU research studies and to provide stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, NGOs, and the community with scientific updates, and invite their national and international perspectives.

GloCal fellows have access to the UZ-UCSF CTU’s dynamic community engagement, and mature pharmacy, clinic, regulatory, laboratory, data, IT, finance, and administrative structures, enabling them to achieve their research goals in an efficient and timely manner.

In the coming 5 years, the UZ-UCSF CTU plans to strengthen the collaboration between UC campuses and the Zimbabwe site, investing in cross-training opportunities and mentoring to capacitate early-stage investigators, (ESIs) locally and from the US, to identify research topics that address global health challenges and contribute to evidence-based health policies and best practices in geographic areas with high burdens of disease; embark on independent research careers; and successfully navigate academic pathways into UZ or other US institutions.

Kerman University of Medical Sciences and HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center

Kerman University of Medical Sciences was established in 1977 and was recently designated as responsible for public health and research programs for the southeast region of Iran. KMU comprises eight schools including medical, dental, pharmacy, traditional medicine, public health, nursing and midwifery, management and information sciences, and paramedics, with over 460 academic staff and approximately 6,000 students. Degrees range from Bachelor of Science to PhD (including medical degrees), clinical residencies, sub-specialty fellowships, and post-doctoral research fellowships. KMU provides several support facilities including: sports and entertainment, IT services, central library, transportation services, dormitories for international students.

There are 24 research centers across disciplines in KMU, including the HIV/STI Surveillance Research Centre, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance (HIVHUB). The HIVHUB was established in 2009 with funding from WHO, UNAIDS, and Iran CDC to provide training in HIV research for countries in the eastern Mediterranean regional office (EMRO). The HIVHUB also serves as a technical resource for studies among people who inject drugs, their partners, female sex workers, street children, high-risk youth, men who have sex with men, and prisoners. Current collaborating faculty members including: George Rutherford MD, PhD, Willi McFarland MD, PhD, MPH, Ali Mirzazadeh MD, PhD, Paul Wesson, PhD from UCSF; and AliAkbar Haghdoost MD, PhD, Hamid Sharifi DVM, PhD, Iraj Sharifi, PhD, and Majid Fasihi-Harandi, PhD from KMU.

HIVHUB has provided HIV research capacity building since its inception, conducted 15 international and 4 national training workshops, and developed 4 training modules on HIV surveillance. In two years of collaboration, UCSF and the HIVHUB have jointly produced 35 publications, trained 6 mentors, 16 mentees, and completed 4 joint research projects. HIVHUB research and consultation, in collaboration with other parts of the KMU, also encompasses other infectious diseases like SARS-COV-2, tuberculosis, and several tropical diseases and vector-borne diseases like malaria, leishmaniosis, cystic echinococcosis, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

Site contact: Dr. Hamid Sharifi

St. John's Research Institute (SJRI)

The St. John's Research Institute (SJRI) in Bengaluru, India is a part of St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, which includes a Medical College, a 1500 bed multi-speciality hospital, and a College of Nursing. SJRI’s mission is to make a significant impact on health through basic science and clinical research, promotion of evidence-based health care, and population health research initiatives. SJRI has an extensive collaborative network of both government and non-governmental organizations in both urban and rural settings and has developed several clinical sites in these locations for research collaborations.

SJRI has a diverse set of research focus areas, including epidemiology and population health, nutrition, infectious diseases, medical informatics, mental health, molecular medicine and health and humanities. Faculty in each of these divisions have extensive experience facilitating and mentoring both domestic and international students.  

In 2002, Drs. M. Ekstrand (UCSF) T. Raj, K.Srinivasan and S. Chandy (SJRI) began their NIH-funded research collaboration that has included five observational cohort studies and clinical trials in both infectious and non-communicative diseases, focusing primarily on HIV and mental health. The collaboration's research also explores the use of technology to solve health problems in resource-poor settings using mHealth, remote bio-monitoring of neonatal temperature, and development of point-of-care diagnostic devices.  Future planned research projects will include research on COVID-19 and sequalae, cancer biology, digital health interventions and elder care and nutrition research in micronutrients, protein digestibility, and body composition.

SJRI conducts several training programs in research methodology annually. It is equipped with state-of-art laboratories, facilities and research equipment and has been recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations as a Nutrition Collaborating Centre since 2010. SJRI has a grants management office, and the Institute Ethics Committee is registered with the Office of Human Research Protection.  Housing for visiting students is located within campus and caters to domestic and international students.   

In addition to the joint research infrastructure, the UCSF-SJRI collaboration has resulted in several joint pre and postdoctoral training programs. The UCSF-SJRI collaboration has supported the training of medical students from UCSF, UC Berkeley predoctoral students, and GloCal fellows.

Site Contact: Dr. Tony Raj

Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII)

The Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) is an independent scientific research institute located in Mysore, promoting healthcare access, quality of life, and well-being for women and children through research, training, advocacy, and care. PHRII’s mission is to ensure that Indian women irrespective of class, religion, and socioeconomic status, receive comprehensive non-judgmental reproductive healthcare. PHRII’s vision is to improve women’s health through evidence-based care and to create an equitable society where all women have access to the benefits of good health.

Founded as a non-profit charitable trust in 2007, PHRII has been recognized as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization by the Government of India. Its services are provided in urban, peri-urban, rural and tribal areas of Mysore district. Currently, PHRII has more than twenty staff working to improve the health of the women. It also operates a full-time laboratory with biochemistry, microbiology and molecular services. There is an administrative core for grant support, and a community department that provides education and awareness programs to support ongoing research and services. PHRII has more than 5,000 sq. ft with office space, conference rooms, a training centre, and a teleconferencing facility.

PHRII also operates the Prerana Reproductive Health Clinic offering outpatient services for family planning, reproductive healthcare and cancer prevention to low-income communities. In addition, it operates mobile clinics providing reproductive healthcare in a rural catchment area of more than 144 villages and tribal hamlets in Mysore District. PHRII has been collaborating with important stakeholders like Rotary Mysore on another important objective: reducing the burden and death toll from cervical cancer. PHRII focuses on building strong ongoing collaborations with communities and the National Rural Health Mission to ensure that all projects are sustainable with effective coordination. PHRII has served as a training site for undergraduates, graduate doctoral and post-doctoral fellows in collaboration with several US and other universities around the world. As a NIH training site, PHRII has hosted postdocs, predocs, and students from different backgrounds.

Site Contact: Dr. Vijaya Srinivas

Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (CMU) aims to produce globally impactful research by contributing to the sustainable development goal to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.  CMU offers training and research focusing on a holistic approach to managing patients with chronic conditions such as HIV, hepatitis, substance use, and mental health. In addition, they have developed expertise in health services research to advance patient outcomes, particularly in primary care.

CMU is the third oldest university in Thailand, and the first and largest outside of Bangkok. It is located near the center of Chiang Mai.  Its hospital has 1,400 beds providing for over 1,300,000 patients. CMU have strong research, clinical, and governmental collaborations within Thailand and abroad, and is recognized across Southeast Asia (SEA) as a research leader. They have collaborated on several NIH and USG funded studies including numerous HTPN and IMPAACT trials.

In partnership with UCLA (Larkins, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior), in 2016 CMU received SAMHSA/PEPFAR funding to create the SEA HIV-Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) that expanded its research efforts to include clinical capacity-building, system-strengthening, and workforce development within Thailand and across SEA. Engaging a multi-disciplinary network of providers, clinicians, and researchers, the project built the first ECHO site in Northern Thailand, and has become a critical healthcare and research partner to its federal and provincial governments, and our broader community. With an active MOU since 2016, CMU has successfully supported faculty and student exchanges for mentored experiences with UCLA, and continues to forge relationships with UCLA and other UC researchers and clinicians working in areas of psychiatric comorbidities (Ventura, Semel/UCLA), integrated primary and mental health care for at-risk populations (Shoptaw, Family Medicine/UCLA), migrant health (Parker, Infectious Diseases/UCI), and syndemic mental health, substance use disorder (SUD) and HIV (Grelotti & Koutsenok, Psychiatry/UCSD).

CMU has infrastructure to support trainees through a dedicated foreign affairs division as well as an abundance of experience in conducting sound research and building structures and systems necessary to translate science into culturally-responsive and clinically applicable approaches to improving health.

Site contact: Dr. Chaisiri Angkurawaranon

Hanoi Medical University (HMU)

Hanoi Medical University (HMU), established in 1902, is the oldest and largest health sciences university in Vietnam. HMU has a 400-bed teaching hospital and schools in medicine, nursing, public health, and traditional medicine. HMU has more than 70 academic departments and research units and about 1000 faculty members who have received their graduate training in Vietnam and/or abroad. It collaborates with universities all over the world for teaching and research.

The collaboration between HMU and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) started in 2011 with the Vietnam – HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Center (VHATTC) project, funded by SAMHSA with technical assistance from UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Program. VHATTC (now renamed to Vietnam International Technology Transfer Center) continues to be a technical assistance resource for addiction professionals in Vietnam. In 2016, a Fogarty-funded training program on advanced epidemiological methods (NIH D43 TWW010057) for Vietnamese scholars was led by Dr. Li Li (UCLA). Collaboration on a study of antimicrobial resistance in STDs began in 2017, and continued with a study on STIs among PrEP users and antimicrobial resistance in N. gonorrhoeae (7R21AI157817-02). In 2020, NIDA funded HMU to work with Dr. Steven Shoptaw (UCLA) on a study to reduce methamphetamine use among methadone patients (R01DA050486).

With the continuing GloCal training program, HMU aims to develop more studies in important areas including HIV/AIDS, STIs, antimicrobial resistance, addiction, mental health, aging and non-communicable diseases.

Site contact: Dr. Le Minh Giang