Training for Research Excellence in Neurological NCDs and Disorders in Zambia (TRENNDZ)

In May 2022, the World Health Organization’s Member States approved an Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) for Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders aimed at improving access to care and treatments for persons with neurological disorders towards the promotion of health across the lifespan. Neuropsychiatric disorders, which include non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as epilepsy and stroke, comprise one-third of the global burden of disease based upon disability-adjusted life years. Zambia is well-positioned to take on the IGAP challenge. In the past decade, thanks to a successful and now self-sustaining post-graduate clinical training program, Zambia’s neurological work force has grown from a handful of expatriate neurologists to a strong, Zambian-led academic community providing clinical services throughout the country. IGAP implementation is constrained, however, by critical deficits in our understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical epidemiology and optimal management strategies for Neuro-NCDs in the African setting. Zambian clinician scientists keen to conduct local, relevant, high-quality research in Neuro-NCDs have already begun to undertake investigations aimed at filling these gaps. The TRENNDZ (Training in Research Excellence in Neurological NCDs and Disorders in Zambia) D43 program will provide the professional development opportunities needed for these emerging investigators to become global leaders in Neuro-NCD research, to compete successfully for career sustaining awards and, eventually, to become independent investigators and mentors for the next generation of African academics. To accomplish this, TRENNDZ will provide a tripartite training program. The Foundational Core will combine asynchronous instruction with in-person training using a flipped classroom approach, with 15 modules of two to eight weeks in duration, to provide a solid background on research methodologies as well as practical skills needed for academic success. The Capstone Core will support a one-year, mentored, in-country research fellowship including in-person, small classes on grant writing, manuscript preparation and other critical academic skills. Finally, through a cumulative (across evaluated activities in the Foundational and Capstone Cores), competitive process, the Advanced Core will support a subset of D43 fellows to undertake graduate studies at the University of Rochester (UR) where they will join the Experimental Therapeutics in Neurological Disease Fellows (T32NS007338-34) and benefit from being fully integrated into a program of US trainees with similar interests and expertise. Senior Zambian consultants from pediatrics, medicine, and neuropsychology whose research programs include Neuro-NCD investigations and NIH-funded, US neurologists with decades of experiencing working in Zambia will serve as the in-country faculty with additional sub-specialty or methodological expertise provided by UR faculty, where needed, to assure all TRENNDZ fellows have the full complement of mentors needed to assure their success.