Helping African Infectious Disease Researchers Take the Lead

A new initiative led by the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) will help African scientists collaborate with infectious disease experts around the world and build a foundation for sustainable research.  

Funded primarily through philanthropy, the Paul Farmer African Initiative for Research (PFAIR), will support mentorship and research capacity, platforms for knowledge exchange, and an international exchange program for promising early-career African scientists. It builds upon the success of the First International West Africa Symposium & Workshops on Infectious Diseases, which was hosted last year by QBI and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health.

Sub-Saharan Africa lost billions of dollars for programs to combat malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases because of the recent gutting of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), so the need to build the capacity within Africa to advance infectious disease research without relying on the U.S. government has never been greater.  

“Infectious diseases know no borders,” said Nevan Krogan, PhD, QBI’s director and professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences. “It’s only through large-scale collaborative effort — where scientists from different countries come together to focus on the same problem from diverse but complementary angles — that we can truly unlock complex biological systems. That’s how the breakthroughs happen."  

Read the full story: How UCSF Is Helping African Infectious Disease Researchers Take the Lead 

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