AITRP-Cameroon: HIV Vaccine Preparation
Visiting Student Researchers
Peace Corps Partnership
Short-Term Training
Conferences and Workshops AITRP-Cameroon: HIV Vaccine Preparation
In October 2003, Cameroon became one of the newest member countries in the Hopkins AIDS International Training and Research Program. This five-year, renewable training grant from the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health will offer short-term training and degree program opportunities for Cameroonian health researchers and practitioners working in HIV vaccine development. At present, Dr. Judith N. Torimiro is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at JHSPH under the supervision of Dr. Nathan D. Wolfe and Dr. Donald Burke and working with the Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP). Currently, Cyrille Djoko, an AITRP fellow, is in a five-month training program on SIV screening techniques, in the laboratory of Dr. Martine Peeters, at the Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement in Montpellier, France. In May 2004, two fellows, Sidouanne Anye and Din Ngolle, completed a two-month distance education (http://distance.jhsph.edu/) training in Clinical Vaccine Trials and Good Clinical Practice (http://distance.jhsph.edu), hosted by JHSPH. In July 2003, Colonel Eitel Mpoudi of the Cameroon military, Dr. Edmund Agbor of the Cameroon Development Corporation plantation, and Dr. Francis Galega of the HEVECAM plantation, attended the First Annual Summer Vaccine Trials & Good Clinical Practice Training Institute at JHSPH. For AITRP Fellows: Background Information Form Human Subjects Research Training Module Summary of Training Report Return to top >
Visiting Researchers and Students
As a center associated with Johns Hopkins University, providing field research experience for students is central to our mission. We provide training opportunities for students of all nationalities enrolled in a graduate level program. In the past we have hosted public health, laboratory science, medical, and veterinary students, and are open to any student whose plans will advance the goals of the program. WRJHCP has also arranged short-term research experiences for motivated people who are not presently in a degree program, but whose background and future plans make this experience valuable for their professional development. Current and past researchers include Erin Bohula, MDc
Mammal sampling
Jun 04 – Aug 04
Matthew McCarthy, MDc
Mammal sampling
Jun 04 – Aug 04 Kimberley Coffman, BSc
Mammal sampling
Jun 04 – Aug 04 Amy Peterson, DVM
Mammal sampling
Jun 04 – Aug 04 Ethel Wu, BS
Pre-cohort development, hunter-prey study, and retrovirus emergence among hunters in Central Africa
Jan 04 – Jul 04 Kara Nygaard, MHS
Mammal sampling and retrovirus emergence among hunters in Central Africa
Jul 03 – Dec 03 Jacqui Francis, MD, MPH
Survey of measles reporting system
Jun 03 – Aug 03 Sally Umlauf, DVMc
Goats and human disease study
May 03 – Jul 03 Wanchung Hu, PhDc
Adult T-cell expression after malaria infection
Mar 03 – May 03 Thomas Jaenisch, PhDc
Community mapping and preparation for potential study on arboviral diseases in children
Jul 02 Judith Hedje, MD, MPH, MBA
HIV prevention in the Cameroon military
Jun 02 – Aug 02 Maria Said, MPH
Assessing the impediments to measles vaccination in Cameroon
Jun 01 – Aug 01 Lucien Etame, PhDc
Laboratory technical assistance
2000 – present Cyrille Djoko, PhDc
Laboratory technical assistance
2000 – present Judith Torimiro, PhD
Laboratory coordination
Jan 2000 – present Nathan Wolfe, ScD
Emergence of HIV Genetic Diversity in Cameroon
Jul 99 – Jun 03
Return to top > Peace Corps Partnership
WRJHCP has developed a partnership with Peace Corps Cameroon. Volunteers fill an invaluable role in HIV prevention and cohort study management in both plantation and rural sites. They will receive the support of the WRJHCP research team, project resources of each site and access to visiting researchers specializing in social and laboratory sciences or in study management. This partnership is envisioned to prepare volunteers for future careers in public health research and practice. In 2003-04, seven volunteers who served in WRJHCP sites: Cameroon Development Corporation (plantation)
Melodie Griffis
HEVECAM (plantation)
Andrew Koleros
Jason Carmichael Abat (village)
Lisa Medley Akam (village)
Heidi Miller Ngoila (village)
Carey Johnson Nyabissan (village)
Jean-Christophe Noukelak
Return to top > Short-Term Training
Short-term, certificate-awarding training programs are arranged, primarily through our partnership with the USMHRP. From March to May 2003, one trainee completed JHSPH distance education course “Clinical Vaccine Trials: Planning and Implementation.” In November 2002, two trainees earned certificates in Transport of Biomedical Materials following training in Nairobi, Kenya. In May 2002, four earned certificates in Good Laboratory Practice in Nairobi, Kenya. In September 2001, four trainees were sponsored to attend a course on Good Clinical Practice in Nairobi, Kenya.
Return to top > Conferences and Workshops
In November 2002, WRJHCP, with the assistance of the Cameroon military and in partnership with the USMHRP, organized two back-to-back meetings: - The Workshop on HIV Prevention in the Armed Forces of Central African Militaries, with over 100 participants from eight countries; and
- The First International Workshop on HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development in Central Africa, whose participants included the Cameroon Ministers of Health, Defense and Research, as well as many local and international organizations.
Program staff and collaborators attend major conferences worldwide, presenting our research and reporting on past projects. Staff are encouraged to develop their professional paths by staying current in their areas of research.
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