Afya bora consortium

Course Format

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  Each fellow will be distributed a CD and this coversheet.
  

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  Fellows will be responsible for viewing talks during the weeks indicated on the table below.
  

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  Schedules will be established by in-country working group members for Fellows to discuss the talks as a group. The schedule can vary depending on the needs of a particular group. However, this is a blended learning course and is designed to have asynchronous learning activities (ie. listening to the lectures) and synchronous (face to face) elements. Suggested timelines are as follows.
  

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  Once weekly to discuss the three talks for that week
  
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  Twice over the length of the course and highlight key talks
  

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  Once the schedule has been agreed upon, it should be sent to Dr. Farquhar.
  

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  Group discussions will be led by 2 or more Fellows who will be assigned specific dates and talks.
  

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  To lead a group discussion, Fellows should be prepared to summarize key points and present questions to the other Fellows and faculty in order to stimulate conversation. Fellows should not re-present the lecture. Rather, Fellows should assume all participants have listened to the lecture and spend only 5 minutes reviewing key points.
  

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  Fellows will be expected to submit two items for evaluation: A list of discussion questions and a synthesis of the full group discussion. These items should be submitted to Angela Shelton or Dr. Farquhar at the end of your session.
  

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  Inviting an outside facilitator who has expertise in the area of one of the talks is strongly encouraged. This person should be given the opportunity to watch the talk and then incorporated into the discussion.
  

Francois Dabis

Dr. Dabis is a medical doctor and Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health (ISPED) of the University Bordeaux Segalen, in Bordeaux, France. Dr. Dabis has 25 years of experience in research on HIV epidemiology and global health. He has been leading since 2001 the HIV research team within ISPED. His scientific interest is on the public health challenges of HIV prevention and care: prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Africa, cohort studies of antiretroviral-treated adults and children in France and West Africa and more generally operational research on HIV programs in resource-limited settings. François Dabis is the Chair of the Coordinated Action n°12 of the French Agency for Research on HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS) in charge of the scientific agenda of the Agency in lower-income countries. He is also the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Institut national de la Veille Sanitaire (French CDC) since 2003. His scientific productivity can be described through more than 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and his contribution to the Editorial Board of two leading journals in infectious diseases: AIDS and Journal of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Joanne Stekler, MD

Dr. Stekler is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and, Epidemiology, at the University of Washington and is Deputy Director (Community Services) of the HIV/STD Program, Public Health - Seattle & King County. Dr. Stekler's research is focused in two primary areas: HIV prevention through earlier diagnosis of HIV infection and the clinical consequences of primary HIV infection.  With the Public Health - Seattle & King County HIV/AIDS Program, Dr. Stekler is working to expand routine HIV antibody testing and access to pooled HIV nucleic acid amplification testing to diagnose acute HIV infection. She leads several studies investigating novel methods to diagnose acute and early HIV infection; comparisons of rapid HIV tests; and home, self-testing for HIV infection. Dr. Stekler also works at the University of Washington Primary Infection Clinic within the clinical core of the Seattle Primary Infection Program (SeaPIP), a collaboration of local and national virologists, immunologists, and clinicians. Since 1992, the Primary Infection Clinic has enrolled and followed over 300 persons with acute and early HIV infection. Dr. Stekler's interests include interdisciplinary research to understand factors associated with HIV transmission, consequences of transmitted drug resistance, viral dynamics following HIV acquisition, and clinical outcomes of antiretroviral therapy during primary HIV infection.

Jared Baeten, MD, PhD

Dr. Baeten is an associate professor in the Departments of Global Health and Medicine and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. His research focuses on epidemiologic and biologic risk factors for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and clinical trials of novel interventions for prevention of HIV transmission.

Current projects include a phase III randomized, placebo-controlled trial of antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), using oral tenofovir and co-formulated emtricitabine/tenofovir, for the prevention of HIV acquisition within HIV serodiscordant couples in Kenya and Uganda (study co-chair), and an upcoming phase III trial of dapivirine vaginal ring for HIV prevention in women (through the NIH Microbicides Trials Network, study chair). He is also PI or Project Director of four NIH grants studying best HIV prevention strategies for the heterosexual African HIV epidemic. He has ongoing collaborative projects exploring clinical, virologic, and immunologic factors influencing HIV transmission.

Elizabeth Bukusi, MBChB, MMed, MPH, PhD

Dr. Bukusi is a Senior Research Officer at Kenya Medical Research Institute. She is a Honorary Lecturer in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Nairobi, and holds a professional research position with the University of Washington Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition, Dr. Bukusi is currently the Program Co-Director for a PEPFAR – CDC funded care program, “Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES).” She is also a Co-Director of a Fogarty-funded training program “The KEMRI-UCSF Infectious Disease Training Research Program,” which aims to build capacity of STI researchers in the East African region. Dr. Bukusi is a co-investigator on several ongoing studies including “HIV/AIDS Widow Inheritance” based in Bondo in Nyanza, and “HIV Shedding and the Female Genital Tract” based in Nairobi. She has been serving on the WHO reproductive health country development program since 2002. She currently serves on the DSMB for the CIPRA program of the Moi University referral and teaching hospital based in Eldoret, Kenya, and for a UCSF multi-site MIRA study.

Grace John-Stewart, MD, PhD

Grace John-Stewart is a Professor, Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health, and Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Dr. John-Stewart was trained as an internist and pediatrician prior to infectious diseases, and received a PhD in epidemiology. Her research is focused on international HIV-1 studies, primarily based in Kenya. These include studies of transmission, prevention, clinical epidemiology, clinical trials, and molecular epidemiology. Her interests include mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1, pediatric HIV-1 and co-infections (TB, helminths, CMV), HIV-1 acquisition and pathogenesis, and treatment and delivery of HIV-1 treatment and prevention services. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Dr. John-Stewart's funding has included support from the NIH, CDC, Gates Foundation, EDCTP, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Dr. John-Stewart received the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award, has mentored over 60 students/fellows, received a K24 Mentorship Award, was nominated for the UW post-doctoral mentorship award, for the Marsha Landolt Award, and received a UW School of Medicine mentorship award. She is currently the Director of the CFAR International Core, the Kenya Research Program, and the UW Global Center for Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents and Children (Global WACh).

Jane Simoni, PhD

Jane M. Simoni is a clinical psychologist and a professor in the Department of Psychology, with adjunct appointments in Global Health and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. She is a faculty member in the CFAR’s Socio-behavioral and Prevention Research Core. Her research has focused on behavioral aspects of HIV treatment, with several NIMH-funded intervention studies in NYC, Seattle, the U.S.-Mexico border, and China. She is also interested in health disparities among sexual and ethnic/racial minority groups. Recently, she received a Mid-Career Development Award to support her mentoring activities of graduate students and junior investigators and to expand her expertise in computer technology to enhance intervention impact and dissemination.

Stefano Bertozzi, MD, PhD

Dr. Stefano Bertozzi oversees investments in HIV vaccine development, research and product development for biomedical prevention and diagnostics, and strategies for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of delivery of prevention and treatment services. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2009, Dr. Bertozzi was with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico from 1998-2009, as the director of its Center for Evaluation Research & Surveys, where he led economics and statistics teams that conducted impact evaluations of large health and social programs in Mexico, Africa, Asia and Latin America. He also led the INSP's AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infections research group. Prior to joining the INSP, he led HIV and health economics programs at UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. Dr. Bertozzi is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Dr. Bertozzi’s research has covered a diverse range of topics in health economics and policy, focusing on the economic aspects of HIV/AIDS and on the health impact of large social programs. He received his BS in Biology and PhD in Health Policy and Management from MIT, his MD from University of California, San Diego, and residency training in internal medicine at University of California, San Francisco.

Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH

Chris Beyrer is Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, International Health, and Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  He serves as Director of the Johns Hopkins Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program and as founder and Director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins.  He also serves as Senior Scientific Liaison and Chair of the Injecting Drug Use Working Group of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).  He currently has research and/or training activities in Thailand, China, Burma, India, Laos, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and the US.  He is the author of the 1998 book War in the Blood:  Sex, Politics and AIDS in Southeast Asia (Zed Books, London, St. Martins Press, New York). Dr. Beyrer has published extensively on HIV/AIDS epidemiology and prevention research, HIV vaccine research, and public health and human rights and is the author of numerous articles and scientific papers. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank Institute, the World Bank Thailand Office, The Office for AIDS Research of the U.S. NIH, The Levi Strauss Foundation, The U.S. Military HIV Research Program, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, The Open Society Institute, The Royal Thai Army, and numerous other organizations. 

Sharon Hillier, PhD

Dr. Sharon L. Hillier is professor and vice chair for faculty affairs, and director of reproductive infectious disease research in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In addition, she holds secondary appointments in the School of Medicine’s department of microbiology and molecular genetics and with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and is a senior investigator at the University of Pittsburgh-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute. Dr. Hillier is an internationally recognized microbiologist whose work has influenced a nascent field of research in which women’s health and HIV prevention concerns intersect. In 2006, she was named principal investigator for the Microbicide Trials Network, an HIV/AIDS clinical trials network established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). As principal investigator, Dr. Hillier leads an international team of investigators and community and industry partners from seven countries and three continents, directing an ambitious research agenda imposed by the urgency of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. MTN’s broad range of clinical trials includes studies considered among the most critically important for advancing the field of HIV prevention.

Lawrence Corey, MD, PhD

Dr. Lawrence Corey is president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His appointment became effective Jan. 1, 2011.  An internationally renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, Corey’s research focuses on herpes viruses, HIV and other viral infections, particularly those associated with cancer. He also is principal investigator of the Hutchinson Center-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network, an international collaboration of scientists and institutions that combines clinical trials and laboratory-based studies to accelerate the development of HIV vaccines. Under Corey’s leadership at the Hutchinson Center, the HVTN has become the model for global collaborative research; the network involves scientists on four continents and nine countries. Prior to assuming the leadership of the Hutchinson Center, Corey directed the Hutchinson Center’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, which is dedicated to developing and implementing prevention strategies for globally important infectious diseases, including HIV and viruses and bacteria that can result in cancer. He also headed the Program in Infectious Diseases at the Hutchinson Center and the Virology Division in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.At UW, Corey is a professor of laboratory medicine and medicine, adjunct professor of pediatrics and microbiology, and holder of the Lawrence Corey Endowed Chair in Medical Virology.

Corey Casper, MD, MPH

Dr. Casper is the Director of the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) / Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance and an Associate Member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle Washington. He is also an Associate Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health at the University of Washington, where he serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Casper divides his time between engaging in research, teaching and clinical care. His research efforts focus on the transmission, acquisition, natural history, pathophysiology and treatment of infection-associated cancers with a special focus on human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and Kaposi Sarcoma. As director of UPCID, Dr. Casper established a clinical research site in Kampala Uganda. This site currently has more than 20 ongoing studies examining the control of HHV-8 replication, biomarkers for the prediction of KS development and successful treatment, the immunogenetics of infection-associated cancers, treatment of KS and lymphoma, the role of nutrition in the development and treatment of infection-related cancers, and the discovery of novel pathogens associated with cancer.