The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the funding of five initial awards and three planning grants to institutions in developing countries under the new International Bioethics Education and Career Development Award Program. These awards respond to a need for training programs focused specifically on research ethics and on long-term bioethics training for investigators from low- and middle-income nations. Support for this program will total approximately $1.4 million per year over the next four years.
The award supports U.S. as well as international educational and research institutions. It aims to 1) improve the quality of international ethics training by supporting the development of courses to provide skills for teaching and research related to bioethics and the conduct of medical research in developing countries; 2) support the advanced training of developing country professionals who can assume the roles and responsibilities of bioethicists involved in ethical review of clinical trial design in research and clinical investigation in their countries; and 3) develop and provide intensive short courses specifically designed for individuals directly involved in human subjects research ethical review.
"The scientific community and the public are increasingly concerned with the social and ethical dimensions of research, including cross-cultural research," says FIC Director Gerald T. Keusch, M.D. "This program will enable trainees to provide expertise to institutions, national governments, and international bodies with regard to ethical issues related to development and conduct of research efforts, and to assist investigators in the pursuit of culturally relevant studies on ethical theory and practice in biomedical and behavioral research."
The program was developed as an outcome of the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research, the first in a series initiated by FIC and held at NIH in November 1999. At the Forum, developing country scientists and health professionals stated unequivocally the pressing need for greater appreciation of international bioethics guidelines and practices. The program aims to meet this need. The Second Global Forum took place in Bangkok, Thailand on October 14 and 15, and the third is planned for The Gambia in November 2001.
Grants are funded jointly by FIC and three other NIH Institutes and Centers - the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
The following are successful applicants for the new awards:
University of Toronto (Program Director - Peter Singer, M.D., MPH)
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (Program Director - Nancy Kass, Sc.D.)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Program Director - Ruth Macklin, Ph.D.)
Harvard School of Public Health (Program Director - Richard Cash, M.D., MPH)
Case Western Reserve University (Program Director - Sana Loue, Ph.D.)
Planning Grants:
University of Cape Town (Program Director - Solomon Benatar, M.D.)
University of Chile (Program Director, Fernando Lolas, M.D.)
University of Pretoria School of Health Systems and Public Health (Program Director - Carel Ijsselmuiden, M.D.)
FIC is a component of the NIH. It promotes and supports scientific discovery internationally and mobilizes resources to reduce disparities in global health. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fact sheets, press releases, and other information about FIC are available at: http://www.nih.gov/fic. Specific information about international research bioethics initiatives is available at http://www.nih.gov/fic/programs/bioethics.html.
Contact: Irene Edwards 301-496-2075