International AIDS Training Program

The HIV Prevention Trial Network’s Fogarty International Training Project supports training of key project staff working on various HPTN projects within the UZ-UCSF Collaborative Research Programme in Women’s Health. These trainings are designed to advance the quality of HPTN research and for basic capacity building to provide a strong base for on-going and future studies. Trainings include:

• Training in Clinical Research Workshop: Key staff members from Zimbabwe will travel to the United States to attend the Training in Clinical Research Workshop held in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF. This workshop is designed to train participants in the skills needed to create and implement a sound clinical research protocol, recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas in clinical research and become familiar with sources of funding for clinical research.

• General Laboratory Trainings: UZ-UCSF Collaborative Research Programme in Women’s Health has developed training modules for new and continuing laboratory staff on laboratory quality assurance, including regular reviews of all test procedures, sample shipping, Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs), as well as laboratory safety regulations. Laboratory testing trainings will also be performed by Roche South Africa on DNA PCR and Viral Load. All trainings are held on-site in Zimbabwe.

• ARV Clinical Training: A clinical expert from the United States will provide clinical training specific to antiretroviral use and treatment of opportunistic infections and other manifestations of HIV disease in a five-day workshop held in Zimbabwe.