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Fogarty-IeDEA Mentorship Program (FIMP)

Applications due – Monday, October 23

2023 Recruitment Cycle Request for Applications

The International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) is an international research consortium established in 2006 by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to provide a rich resource for globally diverse HIV/AIDS data. The consortium collects HIV-related data from seven international regional data centers, including four in Africa, and one each in the Asia-Pacific region, the Central/South America/Caribbean region, and North America. To date, the consortium collects data representing over 2 million adults and 200,000 children and adolescents living with and at risk for HIV. These data are an excellent resource for training new investigators.

In collaboration with the Fogarty International Center (FIC), six IeDEA regions working in low- and middle-income countries have created training opportunities under the Fogarty IeDEA Mentorship Program (FIMP). Within each region, two 24-month mentee slots will be open to current and recent FIC D43 trainees, and IeDEA-affiliated investigators, for a total of 12 positions globally.

Description of the Program

The FIMP is designed to help trainees develop skills in study design, data management, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of research involving large HIV clinical databases generated within IeDEA. As part of the FIMP, for the duration of the training program from January 2024 to December 2025, mentees will:

  • Have access to IeDEA regional data for analyses that are conducted under the supervision of their respective IeDEA regions.
  • Participate in intensive mentoring sessions with scientists affiliated with a Regional Data Center (RDC).
    • During the first year’s intensive mentoring sessions (onsite and/or virtual), mentees will initiate their project and receive one-on-one mentoring from implementation scientists/epidemiologists, data managers, biostatisticians, and other analysts, as appropriate to their project.
    • During the latter part of the first year and during the second year’s intensive mentoring sessions (onsite and/or virtual) the focus will be on manuscript development.
  • Receive at least biweekly mentoring through the duration of the program via e- mail, and video and teleconferencing.
  • Receive support to attend at least one local or regional scientific meeting (virtual or in person)
  • Receive the data management and analytic support through the RDC needed to produce one abstract, one submitted manuscript, and potentially a second draft manuscript during the mentoring period.

Salary support during this period will not be available through this mechanism.

Per Candidate Anticipated Program Deliverables

  • One submitted meeting abstract
  • One submitted manuscript
  • Potential for one additional draft manuscript

Participating IeDEA Regions

Asia-Pacific

Location of programs contributing data: Cambodia, China including Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Data Center Location: Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia
Contact for D43 PIs:
Annette Sohn annette.sohn@treatasia.org
Contacts for applicants:
Dhanushi Rupasinghe drupasinghe@kirby.unsw.edu.au
Awachana Jiamsakul Ajiamsakul@kirby.unsw.edu.au

Caribbean Central and South America (CCASAnet)

Location of programs contributing data: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti,
Honduras, Mexico, Peru
Data Center Location: Vanderbilt University, Nashville US
Contact for D43 PIs:
Jessica Castilho jessica.castilho@vumc.org
Contact for applicants:
Hilary Vansell hilary.vansell@vumc.org

Central Africa

Location of programs contributing data: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo (RoC), Rwanda
Data Center Location: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York US;
City University of New York, New York US
Contact for D43 PIs:
Marcel Yotebieng myotebieng@gmail.com
Contact for applicants:
Adebola Adedimeji adebola.adedimeji@gmail.com

East Africa

Location of programs contributing data: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Data Center Location: Indiana University, Indianapolis, US
Contact for D43 PIs:
Kara Wools-Kaloustian kwools@iu.edu
Contact for Applicants:
Kara Wools-Kaloustian kwools@iu.edu
Aggrey Semeere asemeere@idi.co.ug

Southern Africa

Location of programs contributing data: Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Data Center Location: University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;
University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Contact for D43 PIs:
Mary-Ann Davies mary-ann.davies@uct.ac.za
Contact for applicants:
Renee de Waal renee.dewaal@uct.ac.za

West Africa

Location of programs contributing data: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire,
Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo
Data Center Location: University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Contact for D43 PIs:
Ighovwerha Ofotokun iofotok@emory.edu
Contact for applicants:
Didier Ekouevi didier.ekouevi@gmail.com

Applicant Qualifications

  • Minimum of a Masters degree in public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, or a related biomedical or computational field
  • Prior experience in the area of HIV
  • A current or former D43 trainee in a country in the IeDEA geographic regions or an IeDEA-affiliated regional investigator
    • Current and former trainees in FIC D43s will be prioritized
  • A basic understanding of and skills in epidemiology, data management and analysis
  • Citizen of a low- or middle-income country

Application Requirements

  • Concept Sheet (standardized template)
  • Curriculum Vitae or US NIH standard biosketch with personal statement narratives
  • Mentor assessment of skills – If you are a D43 Trainee or former Trainee, a mentor from your D43 program should complete this form. If you are an IeDEA-affiliated investigator, this form can be completed by the designated site or RDC investigator
  • A letter of support from the mentee’s institution/program committing to salary/stipend support and to a release from training or work for mentoring sessions and project development time (virtual +/- in-person), as well as for a one-week scientific meeting during the mentoring period (virtual or in-person)
  • Either 1-3 PDFs of accepted abstracts, presented posters, and accepted or published manuscripts from the past five years, OR a personal statement including a discussion of the candidate’s career goals (1-page limit)

Applicant Review Process

The RDCs will independently review applications. Finalists will be interviewed by members of the RDC via telephone or videoconference. Mentors of finalists will be contacted by the RDC to discuss integration of the FIMP training with ongoing training and mentoring.

Timelines

Monday, July 10 – Applications Open
https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/surveys/?s=DFHP8A8XXN3RNLFY

Week of July 31 – Orientation Webinars
Tuesday, August 1, 9 pm ET
Thursday, August 3, 9 am ET
Friday, August 4, 9 am ET

Zoom link (same link, ID, and passcode for all webinars):
https://jh.zoom.us/j/91712520430?pwd=eVhXUlBKdmsrOUY1S01JNXdwUWoydz09
Meeting ID: 917 1252 0430
Passcode: 164143
Join by phone (available numbers here): https://jh.zoom.us/u/adEtKsSEBZ

Monday, October 23 – Applications due

Friday, December 8 – Announcement of the next class

January 2024 – Beginning of the program

Links

Application: https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/surveys/?s=DFHP8A8XXN3RNLFY

Orientation webinar video Passcode: dh?@n9dK

IeDEA Data Exchange Standard: https://www.iedeades.org
IeDEA Website: https://www.iedea.org

Contacts

Fogarty International Center: Dr. Geetha Bansal geetha.bansal@nih.gov
Overall Fogarty IeDEA Program: Dr. Adebola Adedimeji adebola.adedimeji@gmail.com
Technical Assistance with the Application: Hilary Vansell hilary.vansell@vumc.org

Downloads

2023 FIMP Request for Applications

2023 FIMP Concept Template

Frequently Asked Questions

What is covered by the FIMP program?

  • Access to regional IeDEA data; housing, per diem and travel to participate in in- person mentoring activities at the RDCs, as appropriate; remote mentoring; data management and analytics support; housing, per diem and travel to one local or regional meeting, as appropriate.
  • Salary is not supported by this program.

Who develops the research question for the concept required by the application?

  • The initial research question should be developed by the applicant and their D43 mentor. In the case of an IeDEA investigator, the question should be developed by the applicant and the designated site or RDC investigator.

What data are available to address the question?

  • The available data are outlined in the IeDEA Data Exchange Standard (see website link above). As data are pulled from clinical programs, some data elements have a significant quantity of missing values. Regions may have enhanced datasets with additional data beyond that described in the IeDEA Data Exchange Standard. Please contact the IeDEA region to which you are applying for additional information about their available data.

Who supervises the mentee?

  • Current D43 mentees will continue to be primarily supported by their D43 mentor. The IeDEA RDC will provide supervision related to the IeDEA-related analyses. D43 and IeDEA mentors will work closely together.
  • Supervision of past D43 mentees and mentorship of IeDEA-affiliated investigators will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Does my project need IRB approval?

  • Each IeDEA region has IRB approval from all participating programs and institutions to conduct retrospective analyses on their data. A separate IRB approval will not be required for your project unless you are collecting prospective data that are not already being collected by the region.
  • Data transfer agreements may be required by the IeDEA regions.

Can I have access to the data collection forms?

  • IeDEA regions house routinely collected data in their databases as such each clinic/program utilizes different forms to collect their data so it is not possible to provide the candidates with all of the data collection forms utilized. The IeDEA Data Exchange Standard Document provides information on the variables collected within the IeDEA regions and is the best source for information for concept development.