Fellowship Site: Chennai, India
YRG CARE has offered comprehensive care to over 9000 Indians living
with HIV/AIDS since 1993. Its broad array of services includes voluntary
counseling and testing, outpatient care, inpatient care, and community
outreach. In addition, YRG CARE has opened a special outpatient
clinic for injecting drug users in Chennai. It has a number of collaborative
research projects with international institutions from the U.S., U.K.,
and Australia, including the Tufts-Brown Fogarty AITRP, the NIMH
collaborative STD/HIV prevention trial and the HIV Prevention Trials
Network (HPTN). YRG CARE also regularly offers training and mentoring
to health care professionals throughout India. These courses are
supported by grants from the World AIDS Foundation, the Ford Foundation,
and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
YRG CARE offers research opportunities in the laboratory, clinical,
epidemiological, and social science aspects of HIV/AIDS. Opportunities
are sometimes available to do secondary data analyses on patient
or community databases. All fellows are also encouraged to create
their own projects and engage in primary data collection. Fellows
have also collaborated with mentors at YRG CARE to write case studies
and review articles. Finally, since research facilities are in the
same building as the outpatient and inpatient hospital, fellows
have the opportunity to participate in the clinical care of patients
on a daily basis.
The NIH-funded clinical research includes the following projects:
- Fogarty
AITRP
- NIMH
Collaborative HIV/STD Prevention Trial
- HPTN 033 HIV Prevention Preparedness Study - A Study of the
HIV Prevention Trials Network
More
Project Details from the NIH/CRISP database
Housing Availability:
YRG CARE has a guesthouse with rooms available approximately
three miles from the training site. The approximate cost for room
and board there is $750 per month. YRG CARE is located in a residential
area and there are apartment rentals or paid guest accommodations
available within walking distance. A nice apartment in this local
residential area generally runs approximately $250 per month.
Immunizations Needed for this Site:
See the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control Web site and The
Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel.
The NIH/FICRS program mandates that all Scholars see a physician
prior to their assignment abroad (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid,
meningitis, Japanese encephalitis, malaria prophylaxis).
Safety and Danger Issues:
See the U.S.
State Department Web site for information.
Language Requirements Other than English:
None. Fellows can find local tutors to learn basic Tamil and
Telugu.
What is it like to live in Chennai?
With a population of about 7.6 million people, Chennai is the
fourth largest city in India. The city is known for its cultural
heritage, including classical Indian dance and theater, and temple
architecture. The 12-kilometer Marina Beach on the East coast
of the city is one of the longest beaches in the world.
Throughout the year, Chennia average
temperatures are 83-100° F for the
high and 68-81° F for the low. The city gets most of its
monsoon rainfall from September through November.
Chennai offers
all the amenities of a major international city, including international
and regional Indian cuisine, bars, clubs, and gyms. Chennai is the
base for the large Tamil movie industry. There are several movie
theaters that show local Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films, in addition
to international blockbusters.
Travel throughout the city
can be done by auto-rickshaw. Chennai has excellent shopping where
one can find contempary and traditional arts and crafts, clothing
and jewelry.
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