Workshop-based learning and networking: a scalable model for research capacity strengthening in low- and middle-income countries

Celine Perier; Emmanuel Nasinghe; Isabelle Charles; Leoson Junior Ssetaba; Vida Ahyong; Derek Bangs; P Robert Beatty; Nadine Czudnochowski; Amy Diallo; Eli Dugan; Jacqueline M Fabius; Hildy Fong Baker; Jackson Gardner; Stephen Isaacs; Birungi Joanah; Katrina Kalantar; David Kateete; Matt Knight; Maria Krasilnikov; Nevan J Krogan; Chaz Langelier; Eric Lee; Lucy M Li; Daniel Licht; Katie Lien; Zilose Lyons; Gerald Mboowa; Ivan Mwebaza; Savannah Mwesigwa; Geraldine Nalwadda; Robert Nichols; Maria Elena Penaranda; Sarah Petnic; Maira Phelps; Stephen J Popper; Michael Rape; Arthur Reingold; Richard Robbins; Oren S Rosenberg; David F Savage; Samuel Schildhauer; Matthew L Settles; Ivan Sserwadda; Sarah Stanley; Cristina M Tato; Alexandra Tsitsiklis; Erik Van Dis; Manu Vanaerschot; Joanna Vinden; Jeffery S Cox; Moses L Joloba; Julia Schaletzky

doi:10.1080/16549716.2022.2062175

Workshop-based learning and networking: a scalable model for research capacity strengthening in low- and middle-income countries

Glob Health Action. 2022 Dec 31;15(1):2062175. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2022.2062175.

Authors

Celine Perier¹, Emmanuel Nasinghe², Isabelle Charles¹, Leoson Junior Ssetaba², Vida Ahyong³, Derek Bangs⁴, P Robert Beatty⁴, Nadine Czudnochowski⁵, Amy Diallo⁵, Eli Dugan⁴, Jacqueline M Fabius⁶, Hildy Fong Baker⁷, Jackson Gardner⁵, Stephen Isaacs⁸, Birungi Joanah², Katrina Kalantar³, David Kateete², Matt Knight⁹, Maria Krasilnikov¹⁰, Nevan J Krogan^{6

11}, Chaz Langelier³, Eric Lee¹², Lucy M Li³, Daniel Licht⁴, Katie Lien¹³, Zilose Lyons¹⁴, Gerald Mboowa², Ivan Mwebaza², Savannah Mwesigwa², Geraldine Nalwadda², Robert Nichols⁴, Maria Elena Penaranda¹⁵, Sarah Petnic¹⁶, Maira Phelps³, Stephen J Popper^{15

17}, Michael Rape¹⁸, Arthur Reingold¹⁹, Richard Robbins²⁰, Oren S Rosenberg⁵, David F Savage⁴, Samuel Schildhauer²¹, Matthew L Settles²², Ivan Sserwadda², Sarah Stanley^{4

23}, Cristina M Tato³, Alexandra Tsitsiklis⁵, Erik Van Dis²⁴, Manu Vanaerschot³, Joanna Vinden²⁵, Jeffery S Cox^{1

4}, Moses L Joloba², Julia Schaletzky¹

Affiliations

¹ H. Wheeler Center for Emerging & Neglected Diseases (CEND), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
² School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
³ Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ School of Public Health, Center for Global Public Health (CGPH), University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁸ Former CEO, Aduro BioTech, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, USA.
¹¹ Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology, J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹² Graduate Group in Infectious Diseases and Immunity, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹³ Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹⁴ California China Climate Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁵ Sustainable Sciences Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Quality and Clinical Excellence Department, Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa, CA, USA.
¹⁷ School of Public Health, Department of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁸ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
¹⁹ Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²⁰ Wareham Development, San Rafael, CA, USA.
²¹ California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
²² UC Davis Genome Center, Davis, CA, USA.
²³ Division of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
²⁴ Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
²⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunity, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Abstract

Science education and research have the potential to drive profound change in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through encouraging innovation, attracting industry, and creating job opportunities. However, in LMICs, research capacity is often limited, and acquisition of funding and access to state-of-the-art technologies is challenging. The Alliance for Global Health and Science (the Alliance) was founded as a partnership between the University of California, Berkeley (USA) and Makerere University (Uganda), with the goal of strengthening Makerere University's capacity for bioscience research. The flagship program of the Alliance partnership is the MU/UCB Biosciences Training Program, an in-country, hands-on workshop model that trains a large number of students from Makerere University in infectious disease and molecular biology research. This approach nucleates training of larger and more diverse groups of students, development of mentoring and bi-directional research partnerships, and support of the local economy. Here, we describe the project, its conception, implementation, challenges, and outcomes of bioscience research workshops. We aim to provide a blueprint for workshop implementation, and create a valuable resource for bioscience research capacity strengthening in LMICs.

Keywords: Africa; Capacity strengthening; Uganda; infectious diseases; research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Capacity Building
Developing Countries*
Global Health*
Humans
Poverty
Students
Universities

Grants and funding

The Alliance is supported by private donors, Stephen Isaacs, Richard Robbins and the Wheeler family through the Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases.