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Fellowship Site: Mali
In 1988, the Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC) was created
within the Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases at the
University of Bamako, through a partnership grant from the Rockefeller
Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) to a consortium
including the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy (now the
Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry) in Bamako and the Laboratory
of Parasitic Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Pr. Ogobara Doumbo, the chairman of the DEAP since its inception
and the current MRTC Director, and Pr. Yeya Toure, the former Director
of the MRTC and a renowned entomologist, built one of the strongest
malaria research institutions in Africa, with support from numerous
funding agencies and collaborative relationships with several Northern
and Southern research institutions. The MRTC is now a large campus
of seven buildings with laboratories, offices and a guest house,
and its research scope includes clinical trials, clinical and molecular
parasitology, immunology, pathogenesis, drug resistance, basic and
molecular epidemiology, basic and molecular entomology, and geographic
information systems and remote sensing.
Malaria vaccine development and testing is now a major component
of the MRTC's scientific mission, with an active program on transmission-blocking
vaccine development, state-of-the-art clinical and immunology laboratory
facilities, and multiple clinical trials sites. The most fully developed
of these, the Bandiagara Malaria Project, is an NIH-supported collaboration
between the MRTC and the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine
Development, and has been the site of four malaria vaccine trials
and numerous epidemiological studies.
Training capacity
Research training is a major part of the MRTC's mission. Professor
Doumbo and Professor Christopher Plowe have led a Fogarty Malaria
Training Grant since 2000, providing graduate degree training in
malaria research to Malian scientists, with an emphasis on clinical
trials and bioinformatics. The MRTC has organized and hosted many
international training courses sponsored by the FIC, the MacArthur
Foundation, the World Health Organization and the International
Atomic Energy Agency, on topics including epidemiology, entomology,
malariology, bioethics and molecular assays for drug resistant malaria.
Good Clinical Practices (GCP) courses have been held at the MRTC
annually since 2001. MRTC faculty serve as thesis advisors for numerous
MD and PharmD degree candidates each year, and provide postgraduate
training in malaria research to Malian science graduates.
Pr. Doumbo serves as the Mali Program Director for the Maryland-Mali
Fogarty training grants, and is assisted by several other senior
faculty who provide mentoring for clinical and laboratory-based
research.
In 2002, the University of Bamako Faculty of Medicine was designated
one of three NIAID International Centers of Excellence in Research
(ICERs), based mainly on the scientific accomplishments of the MRTC.
Cuurent NIH-funded clinical research at the MRTC includes the following
projects:
- Malaria Vaccine Trials in Mali (including clinical trials at
3 sites: Bandiagara, Doneguebougou, Bancoumana; and related molecular
and immunological studies)
- Congenital and Neonatal malaria in Mali (Djimde)
- Hemoglobin A and C: immunogenetic risk and protective factors
(Wellems)
- Memory B-cell activation in AMA-1 vaccine trial participants
(Pierce)
In addition to the NIH-funded research projects described above,
a large number of research projects funded by other European and
international sources (e.g. WHO) are active at the MRTC.
More
Project Details (from the NIH/CRISP database)
Housing Availability:
The Mali program has an on-campus guest house with a full-time manager,
cook and other staff as well as a computer room with Internet connection.
While on-campus rotations require no transportation, vehicles with
assigned drivers are available for field research. The approximate
cost for room and board is $1,500/month. There is also additional
housing available in downtown Bamako associated with the MRTC. There
are ample apartments available for rent in downtown Bamako as well
for a decent price ($100 - $200 per month, utilities not included).
Houses typically rent for $700 - $800 per month for a 3 bedroom.
Students may elect to spend significant time at clinical trial sites
in the field, where accommodation is free. At the Bandiagara Malaria
Project clinical trial site, air-conditioned bedrooms are available
at a staff residence.
Internet:
The guest house and all laboratories and offices at the main MRTC
campus in Bamako as well as the Bandiagara Malaria Project research
clinic are linked to the NIH computer network. Wireless internet
access is available at most MRTC facilities including the guest
house.
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, yellow fever, typhoid,
polio, meningicoccal).
Safety and Danger Issues:
See the U.S.
State Department Web site for information.
Language Requirements Other than English:
Some French language ability is helpful but all senior Malian investigators
speak enough English that many past trainees with no French language
abilities have been successfully trained.
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