///Career Development Fellowships - 2018

Career Development Fellowships – 2018

Closed
Type of actionTraining & Mobility Action (TMA)
Open date05 August 2018, 10:00
Close date27 November 2018, 10:00
Budget€2.5 million
Funding level100% of eligible costs

Expected number of grants: 16-17

Call identifier: TMA2018CDF


Go to EDCTPgrants

Expected number of grants: 16-17
Call identifier: TMA2018CDF

Description

Background
As research in the field of poverty related diseases (PRDs) gains momentum, it is paramount to facilitate opportunities for early and mid-career scientists in sub-Saharan Africa to develop their clinical research skills. Providing possibilities for individual training would enable talented scientists to establish themselves as independent researchers and team leaders at host institutions in sub-Saharan Africa for long-term continuity and research ownership in the region.

Scope
The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to support early to mid-career researchers (“fellows”) by providing them an opportunity to train and develop their clinical research skills.

The objectives are:

  1. to promote retention of postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate medical researchers in the research field of sub-Saharan Africa
  2. to equip the fellows to establish themselves as independent researchers with ability to initiate their own research teams at host institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

The proposed training should specifically enhance the ability of the fellow to design, plan and execute clinical biomedical and/or social science/ethics research projects within the scope of the EDCTP2 programme*. The proposed training should include an independent research activity and a clear description of the skills that will be acquired by carrying out the research. Fellows with training activities involving clinical trials and related studies must ensure that studies are appropriately designed and GCP-compliant. Individuals targeted by this Call for Proposals should have a track record of publications in peer-reviewed journals in their chosen area of research; a mentor who is an internationally recognised scientific leader working in sub-Saharan Africa; and a career development plan as part of the research proposal.

Proposals for an EDCTP Career Development Fellowship must be submitted by the prospective fellow in conjunction with and on behalf of their proposed host organisation (hereinafter ‘the applicant legal entity’). The grants are awarded to the host organisation with the explicit commitment that this organisation offers appropriate conditions for the career development fellow to direct and manage its funding for the duration of the fellowship. Fellows can only be funded once under this grant scheme.

Expected impact
Projects funded under this Call for Proposals should:

  • contribute towards the achievement of SDG3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’
  • promote career progression
  • encourage entry and reintegration of African scientists trained abroad, and
  • enable the retention of postdoctoral and postgraduate researchers in their respective research fields and that the researchers develop into independent researchers and team leaders in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ultimately these grants will contribute to the generation of a critical mass of researchers and institutional research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Eligibility
A proposal will only be considered eligible if:

  1. its content corresponds, wholly or in part, to the topic/contest description for which it is submitted
  2. it complies with the eligibility conditions set out below, depending on the type of action:
    1. The applicant must be an organisation with an established legal entity in sub-Saharan Africa (the applicant legal entity)**.
    2. The fellow must be employed or have guaranteed employment by the applicant legal entity (the host organisation) where they intend to remain working for a minimum of two years after the expiration of the grant.
    3. The fellow must:
      1. be resident of or be willing to relocate to a sub-Saharan African country;
      2. be either a graduate in a subject relevant to the EDCTP2 programme, with a PhD and up to five years’ relevant postdoctoral research experience, or a medical doctor with up to five years’ research experience;
      3. have at least one publication in an international peer-reviewed journal;
      4. not have been funded under this fellowship scheme before***.
    4. The requested EDCTP contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 150,000
    5. The maximum fellowship duration shall be 36 months.

* In the EDCTP2 programme, “poverty-related diseases (PRDs)” include HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and the following neglected infectious diseases (NIDs): dengue/severe dengue; rabies; human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness); leishmaniases; cysticercosis/taeniasis; dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease); echinococcosis; foodborne trematodiases; lymphatic filariasis; mycetoma; onchocerciasis (river blindness); schistosomiasis; soil-transmitted helminthiases; Buruli ulcer; leprosy (Hansen disease); trachoma; yaws; diarrhoeal infections; lower respiratory infections; as well as emerging infectious diseases of particular relevance for Africa, such as Ebola or yellow fever.

** This additional condition for participation according to RfP Art. 9.5 is required due to the objectives of this Training & Mobility Action. It aims to support senior fellows in sub-Saharan Africa in line with the activities called for by the EU legislator (EDCTP2 Basic Act, Annex II, activity 1c). It contributes to the specific objectives of the EDCTP2 programme which calls, e.g., for cooperation with sub-Saharan Africa on building their capacity for conducting clinical trials in compliance with fundamental ethical principles, relevant legislations and international standards, and for extended cooperation with private partners (EDCTP2 Basic Act, Annex I, objectives 2b).

*** This additional condition for participation according to RfP Art. 9.5 is required due to the objectives of the EDCTP2 programme which requires that the capacity for conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa are built and strengthened (EDCTP2 Basic Act, Annex II). Allowing fellows in sub-Saharan Africa to only receive once a specific EDCTP2 fellowship will increase the number of different fellows supported and promoted under the EDCTP2 programme, and in turn strengthen more broadly the corresponding clinical research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Procedure and application process

Submission and evaluation procedure

This call has a single-stage application procedure.

  • A full proposal must be submitted by 27 November 2018 at 17:00:00 CET via EDCTPgrants. Evaluation results are expected to be made available by 19 April 2019.

The host organisation (applicant) must provide a support letter confirming that the organisation is supportive of the proposed action and willing through its financial and administrative systems to enable the fellow to direct independently the proposed action and manage its funding for the duration of the fellowship.

Evaluation, scoring and thresholds
Following an admissibility and eligibility check, letters of intent and full proposals are evaluated by external, independent experts. Proposals are evaluated according to the criteria Excellence, Impact and Implementation. Each criterion is scored between 0 and 5.

The applicant has a ‘right to reply’ to the expert assessments (rebuttal procedure).

The following aspects are considered under the evaluation criteria:

1. Excellence
The following aspects will be taken into account, to the extent that the proposed work corresponds to the topic description in the work plan:

  • Fit with the scope and objectives of the EDCTP2 Programme, the EDCTP strategic research agenda and the call topic description
  • Importance, relevance/pertinence and clarity of the objectives.
  • Soundness of the concept and credibility of the proposed approach/methodology
  • Suitability of the candidate, considering their track record, degree of independence and/or potential, and how the fellowship will further the individual’s career
  • Quality of the project and its fit with the fellow’s expertise and career development plan, including acquired competencies and skills to be developed further

 

2. Impact
The following aspects will be taken into account:

  • Call specific aspects as listed under ‘expected impact’ in each individual call
  • The extent to which the outputs of the proposed work would contribute, at the European, African and/or International level, to each of the expected impacts listed in the work plan under the relevant topic
  • Likelihood to result in major advances in the field
  • Contribution of the fellowship to the fellow’s clinical research skills and career development
  • Contribution to strengthening clinical research capacity at the home or host organisation
  • Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate results generated during the fellowship (including management of IPR), to communicate the fellowship activities, and, where relevant, to manage clinical data
  • Sustainability and retention of capacity post-award.

 

3. Quality and efficiency of the implementation
The following aspects will be taken into account:

  • Quality and effectiveness of the work plan, including extent to which the resources assigned to work packages are in line with their objectives and deliverables;
  • Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk and innovation management, and how responsibilities for research data quality and sharing, and security will be met;
  • Complementarity of the participants within the consortium, and the extent to which the consortium as whole brings together the necessary expertise;
  • Appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources, ensuring that all participants have a valid role and adequate resources in the project to fulfil that role;
  • Feasibility and appropriateness of the methods and project management to achieve the objectives within the timeframe of the grant;
  • Compliance with national and international standards of research, Good Clinical Practice, ethics and safety related issues;
  • Participants have the operational capacity, to carry out the proposed work, based on the competence and experience of the individual participant(s);
  • Suitability of the fellow’s home organisation to support the fellowship project;
  • Intention of the fellow’s home organisation to develop and commit to a career post-fellowship or re-integration plan.

 

Financial provisions
The call budget is EUR 2.5 million.

The requested EDCTP contribution per project should not exceed EUR 150,000. The funding level is 100% of eligible costs.

Grant agreement
The Coordinator is required to sign a grant agreement with EDCTP (EDCTP2 mono-beneficiary grant agreement with options for Fellowships) within three months of receipt of the evaluation outcome letter.

Applicant legal entities (host organisations) selected for funding from this Call for Proposals will be required to conclude an employment agreement with the fellow prior to the conclusion of the EDCTP2 grant agreement.

Application process

  • The application must be submitted online via EDCTPgrants
  • Only registered users of EDCTPgrants system can apply for grants and therefore you are advised to register on the system as soon as possible.

Documents & info

Documents

 

More information

Projects awarded under this call

ASSER-Malaria
Career Development Fellow: Dr Marc Christian Tahita
Operational feasibility, impact of additional screening using highly sensitive Rapid Diagnostic Tests combined with high coverage of IPTp-SP on placental malaria and low birth weight

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique  (CNRST) – Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Starting date: 1 September 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,138
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2397

CWGSMDRT-TB
Career Development Fellow: Dr Bugwesa Z. Katale
Clinical application of whole-genome sequencing in multidrug resistance tuberculosis patients in Tanzania

Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Starting date: 01 October 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 150,000
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2363

Detl-MTTT
Career Development Fellow: Dr Ndong Ignatius Cheng
Determining the impact of scaling up mass testing, treatment and tracking on malaria prevalence among children in the Pakro subdistrict of Ghana

University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Starting date: 01 February 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 146,537
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2402

Fungal-UG
Career Development Fellow: Dr Beatrice Achan
The epidemiology of invasive fungal diseases in Uganda

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Starting date: 1 November 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,250
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2371

GRIPS-NGS
Career Development Fellow: Dr Vito Baraka
Genetic profiling of drug resistance and population structure of Plasmodium falciparum using high-throughput next-generation sequencing

National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Starting date: 01 January 2020
Duration: 30 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,799
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2398

ISCHEMIC
Career Development Fellow: Dr Mariama Combassere-Cherif
Impact of seasonal malaria chemoprevention on the build-up of protective immunity and the protection against clinical malaria in Burkina Faso

Groupe de recherche action en Santé sarl. (GRAS) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Starting date: 01 February 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,120
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2343

KILGORIS
Career Development Fellow: Dr Andrew Ekii Obuku
Association of early immune response with virological control in acute/early and following HIV-1 infection

Uganda National Health Research Organisation (UNHRO), Entebbe, Uganda
Starting date: 1 November 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,911
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2366

MDRTBTx-Monitor
Career Development Fellow: Dr Willy Ssengooba
Evaluation of alternative bacteriological measures of response to therapy during the initial 16-weeks of MDR-TB treatment

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Starting date: 1 November 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,750
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2351

MPiMP
Career Development Fellow: Dr Caroline Kijogi
Macrophage polarisation in placental malaria pathogenesis

Mount Kenya University Trust, Thika, Kenya
Starting date: 01 April 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,875
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2385

MTI-Plus
Career Development Fellow: Dr David Kateete
Insight into the role of the microbiome in pulmonary tuberculosis in Kapala, Uganda

Makerere University (MAK), Kampala, Uganda
Starting date: 01 January 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 150,000
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2357

NeutroTB
Career Development Fellow: Dr Elouise Kroon
Neutrophils as effector cells in resistance to infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in HIV-infected persons

Stellenbosch University , Stellenbosch, South Africa
Starting date: 1 December 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 150,000
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2353

Optim-TB
Career Development Fellow: Dr Navisha Dookie
Optimising the clinical utility of whole-genome sequencing to enhance drug-resistant tuberculosis outcomes

Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Congella, South Africa
Starting date: 1 October 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 139,550
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2372
Project description on CAPRISA website

PrazOpt
Career Development Fellow: Dr Solomon Mequante Abay
Optimisation of praziquantel therapy for Schistosoma mansoni infection in preschool-aged children in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Starting date: 1 September 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 150,000
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2345

PEAK
Career Development Fellow: Dr Charles Sande
Proteomic-based aetiological biomarkers of acute pneumonia in Kenyan children

Health Research Operations Kenya Limited, Kenya
Starting date: 1 August 2019
Duration: 24 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,217
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2360

sECReT
Career Development Fellow: Dr Anzaan Dippenaar
Early comprehensive genetic drug susceptibility testing to guide treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Starting date: 1 October 2019
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 149,984
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2374

SEN HYBRID INVASION
Career Development Fellow: Dr Bruno Senghor
Hybridasation as a driver for the spread of schistosomiasis: an integrative approach to evaluate the invasive capacity of Schistosome hybrids under praziquantel pressure

Institut de recherche pour le dévelopement – Sénégal (IRD)
Starting date: 01 January 2020
Duration: 36 months
Grant amount: EUR 148,750
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2370

SMC-NUT
Career Development Fellow: Dr Paul Sondo
Assessment of a combined strategy of seasonal malaria chemoprevention + nutrients and vitamin A-Zinc supplementation to tackle malaria and malnutrition in Burkina Faso

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologie (CNRST) – Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Starting date: 1 October 2019
Duration: 30 months
Grant amount: EUR 147,500
Grant agreement: TMA2018CDF-2365