AFRO-NETS> New Global Health Research Initiative Program for Foreign Investigators

[Dieter Neuvians MD <neuvians@mweb.co.zw>]

New Global Health Research Initiative Program for Foreign Investigators
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Applications deadline: 19 April 2002

The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH), together with eight NIH partners, announces a new 
Global Health Research Initiative Program (GRIP) for New Foreign In-
vestigators to promote the productive re-entry of young NIH-trained 
foreign investigators from the developing world to their home coun-
tries. FIC's partners are the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Na-
tional Eye Institute (NEI), the National Institute of Mental Health 
(NIMH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 
(NINDS), the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research 
(OBSSR), the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the Office of 
Research on Women's Health (ORWH). The current combined financial 
commitment from FIC and its partners is US$ 1 million per year to 
support grants of US$ 50,000 annually for up to five years.

This grant program is part of a broader effort by FIC to enhance sci-
entific research infrastructure in developing countries, while sup-
porting research on critical global health issues, including AIDS, 
women's health, the impact of environmental pollution, and the grow-
ing burden of neurological and mental illness.

"There has been a long-standing need for individuals who train in the 
United States to get help in receiving research support when they re-
turn to their home countries," said FIC Director Gerald T. Keusch, 
M.D., on behalf of the NIH partners. "FIC is working with U.S. and 
international colleagues to strengthen research infrastructure in the 
developing world," he added. "GRIP is an important part of this proc-
ess, combating "brain drain" and ensuring that developing countries 
do not lose the benefit of talented scientists, some of whom decide 
not to return home after their training. The GRIP aims to provide 
support on a competitive basis to assist well-trained young investi-
gators to contribute to health care advances in their home coun-
tries."

The GRIP will provide partial salaries to the junior researcher re-
turning home, equivalent to similar professionals in the home coun-
try, and will provide support for research projects. Developing coun-
try scientists supported by this grant are expected to continue to 
pursue independent and productive careers, including expert training 
and consultation and/or research on scientific issues within their 
home institutions. Through this program, junior scientists will com-
pete for funds through a peer-reviewed process and will pursue prom-
ising independent research of benefit to their home countries and the 
world.

"In developing this program we consulted with young scientists from 
the developing world to hear their views on needs and opportunities 
on their return home," said FIC Deputy Director Sharon Hrynkow, Ph.D. 
"The resulting program allows young investigators to gain grant sup-
port and to have a level of control over their early careers in ways 
previously unavailable to them," she added. "With the new program, 
FIC expects to see increases in numbers of young scientists returning 
to their countries and, importantly, continuing of the international 
collaborations begun in the United States."

Developing country scientists currently or recently supported through 
FIC international training programs in global health and through the 
NIH Visiting Program are eligible to apply. Michael Gottesman, M.D., 
NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research noted that "the GRIP will 
continue to build bridges between NIH-supported scientists and their 
colleagues in the developing world. This new opportunity for young 
scientists who have been trained and mentored at NIH or at NIH-
supported institutions in the United States is an important step for-
ward in enhancing research capacity around the world."

Applications for the Global Health Research Initiative Program for 
Foreign Investigators are due by April 19, 2002. 

The Request For Applications for this program may be found at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-TW-02-002.html

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