News & Updates

February 2023 Edition, Issue 62

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Tribute to Olufunke Abiodun Oluwatoba

The CARTA Community deeply mourns the sudden departure of Dr. Olufunke Abiodun Oluwatoba, a distinguished CARTA alumna (cohort 2). Olufunke was a Lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan until her sudden demise.

She passed away on Friday, February 10 2023 and was laid to rest on February 17.

Olufunke obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Ilorin in 1995. She subsequently obtained two Master's degrees from the University of Ibadan, one in Cellular Parasitology and another in Epidemiology, before being selected for a CARTA doctoral Fellowship in 2012. Her doctoral thesis on “Impact of Environmental Pollution on the Prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminth Infection Among Primary School Children in Ibadan”.

As a CARTA fellow, she was vibrant and built friendships across different cohorts. When other CARTA fellows were in Ibadan for the Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes) and other activities, she went out of her way to make their stay in Ibadan memorable. On a number of occasions, she arranged to take groups of fellows to explore the metropolis of Ibadan, particularly the markets and the peculiarly Nigerian merchandise that the fellows could take back to their countries.

She was one of only two parasitologists in her department and had special expertise in digital health. She was given the responsibility of coordinating the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLS) program as well as teaching medical and dental students, tasks that she embraced with great enthusiasm. She had just completed marking scripts from the examinations conducted for the two categories of students when the call to eternity came.

We pray that her husband and children, in this time of grief, will find comfort in the impact Olufunke made on the lives of several generations of students in the University of Ibadan College of Medicine. We also commiserate with the CARTA Family at the University of Ibadan and the greater CARTA Community.

Akinyinka Omigbodun and Olufunke Fayehun

University of Ibadan CARTA Focal Persons 

Below are more tributes from the CARTA community:

Emmanuel Kaindoa (cohort 5 graduate, Ifakara Health Institute) was appointed the Head of the Environmental Health and Ecological Sciences Department. Before the appointment, Emmanuel had been serving as the Deputy Head in the same department since 2016.

Henry Zakumumpa (cohort 4 graduate, Makerere University) was appointed Technical Lead for a $ 2.2 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project seeks to establish an Africa-wide HIV Control Working Group (HCWG) tasked with developing strategies for the sustainability of HIV epidemic control in Africa. The HCWG will have representation from African Ministers of Finance and Health, UNAIDS, WHO, and civil society actors.



Henry was also selected as guest editor for the BMC health services research special collection on ‘decolonizing global health’ on February 18. Henry will provide editorial leadership for this supplement on the topical subject of 'decolonizing global health'. Submissions for the journal will soon open.

Felishana Cherop (cohort 7 graduate, Moi University) was promoted to the position of Lecturer in Strategic Management at Moi university effective January 31, 2023. Prior to the promotion, Felishana was a Tutorial Fellow in the Department of Management Science and Entrepreneurship.

Temitope Olumuyiwa (cohort 10 fellow, Obafemi Awolowo University) was promoted to Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Health. Prior, Temitope was serving as Lecturer, a position she had held in the same department since January 14, 2019.

Jacob Mobolaji (cohort 8 graduate, Obafemi Awolowo University) presented on ‘multidimensional deprivation among older persons in Nigeria: implication for poor health outcomes in later life’ at a workshop on Ageing and Health of Older Persons in Sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop was held between February 19 - 23, 2023 in Entebbe, Uganda, and sought to increase the scientific and political attention paid to the challenges associated with changes in the age composition of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) societies and to foster comparative and multi-disciplinary research across SSA countries. CARTA graduate, Stephen Wandera (cohort 2, Makerere University) was one of the workshop organizers.

Beryl Maritim (cohort 10 fellow, Moi University) presented her PhD findings at a national policy dialogue day event on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) titled ‘Pic4c scale-up project policy dialogue forum- dissemination of pic4c scale-up project findings and development of policy briefs’. This event was held in Nakuru at the Sarova woodlands hotel and spa between February 8 - 10, 2023. The purpose of the meeting was to disseminate findings of an evaluation of NCD pilots funded by the World Bank in two counties in Kenya.

Orientation for New Graduate Students at Wits University, 2023

Between February 15 - 17,  the University of Witwatersrand held its first-ever postgraduate orientation. Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, and Innovation presided over the orientation. This event is part of the University's new Strategic Plan for Postgraduate Research Training 2023-2027.

The new strategic plan was heavily shaped by the CARTA model and activities. Therefore, a substantial portion of the orientation was led by CARTA alums and facilitators under the direction of Professor Sharon Fonn. The team included faculty that had participated in CARTA's Training-of-Trainers in 2022.

Bringing together students from across the university's five faculties, the orientation took on a multidisciplinary andragogical approach. Students were introduced to Wits' overall vision for postgraduate scholarship, as well as how to navigate the campus and the postgraduate pathway, over the course of three days. Students also learned how to avoid common stumbling blocks and received cutting-edge foundational doctoral research preparation from experts in the field. The majority of attendees felt they gained valuable knowledge and enjoyed engaging with the learning materials and methods, suggesting that this orientation be repeated for new students in the future. This is a proof of concept – this part of the CARTA curriculum can be adapted and run with PhD students from many disciplines across all the faculties that make up the University of the Witwatersrand.



Pictured left to right: CARTA graduates - Kudus Adebayo, Mpho P. Molete, Sonti Pilusa, Sara Nieuwoudt and Nkosiyazi Dube

102 awarded PhDs at 73rd Makerere Graduation Ceremony

Makerere University, Uganda held a week-long physical graduation ceremony between February 13 - 17 where a total of 13, 221 students graduated. Of these, 102 graduands (41 female, 61 male) were conferred with PhDs from across all the colleges. Congratulations to all the graduates!

Photo credit: Makerere University

Funding: ReFinD Request For Proposals for Research in Retail Finance Distribution

The Retail Finance Distribution (ReFinD) is an Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ReFinD has launched its second round of Requests for Proposals (RFP) and is accepting proposals for five sub-grant categories: proposal development, pilot projects, natural experiments, extensions, and green field evaluations. The grants are targeted at research institutions, policymakers, and commercial players with a thematic interest in digital financial service (DFS) retail distribution, and agent banking/ networks across Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia, and South Asia. Successful applicants will be awarded grants to undertake research and test innovations in retail finance/ agent banking for financial inclusion in low and middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Details

Deadline: March 31, 2023

Funding: Applied Global Health (Pre-announcement)

This year, the Medical Research Council (MRC) has split the global health funding call into two: research and partnership to address global health challenges and inequities. Proposals of all sizes, including large research projects and small to medium-scale applications, will be accepted. Interested applicants should note the applied global health funding opportunity is now split into separate ‘research’ and ‘partnership’ outline application processes. Applicants are advised to read both the ‘applied global health research’ funding opportunity and this applied global health partnership’ funding opportunity, before deciding which 1 is the best fit for their application. Details: Research call/partnership call

Status: opportunity will open on May 24 and close on July 27

Scholarship: SSPH+ Lugano Summer School in Public Health  Policy, Economics, and Management

Swiss Plexus expects to award more than 100 scholarships for health professionals, policymakers, students, and researchers from LMICs. This year the program specifically encourages the application of PhD students from Africa, who work on health-related topics, because additional funds may be available for this target group. The summer school covers topics such as health systems and health financing, evidence-based decision-making, NCD management, social media in public health, project management, community-based participatory methods, air pollution, or behavior change. Scholarships are available for onsite and online participation. Details

Deadline: March 1, 2023

Fellowship: Provost's Postdoctoral Program

The University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies has announced Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) to provide funding to Graduate Faculties to increase opportunities for hiring postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented groups, specifically Indigenous and Black researchers. The fellowship will enable postdoctoral researchers to grow their scholarly profiles, undertake academic work at the University of Toronto, and strengthen the research environment at the University with diverse perspectives. Details

Deadline: March 3, 2023

Fellowship: Mawazo Program

The Mawazo Fellowship Programme is a non-residential fellowship for African women pursuing their PhD studies in any field at an accredited African university. Through the program, we unlock the potential of African women to conduct high-quality research and contribute to issues affecting Africa’s development. We competitively select a cohort of 40 Fellows whose research is relevant to African development priorities, contributes new knowledge to their field of study, and holds the potential for transformational change in their communities, and beyond. Specifically, we support Fellows whose work is actively addressing global, regional, national and/or sub-national development and policy priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Details

Deadline: March 12, 2023

Fellowship: TDR Clinical Research Leadership Program

The TDR Clinical Research Leadership (CRL) fellowship program is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). It offers targeted training in research and development in TPOs (pharmaceutical companies, PDPs, and research organizations) to develop highly skilled local personnel from disease-endemic low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to enhance competencies in clinical trials for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics on a broad range of poverty-related infectious diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Details

Deadline: March 15, 2023

Fellowship: Lise Meitner Programme

Qualified female professionals are invited to apply for the IAEA Lise Meitner Programme which provides early- and mid‑career women professionals with opportunities to participate in a multiweek visiting professional program and advance their technical and soft skills. Named after Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner, the visiting professional program aims to boost women's career development in the nuclear sector, in particular in the nuclear energy field. The program includes professional visits to various nuclear facilities, such as but not limited to, facilities under construction, operation or decommissioning, research centers, scientific institutions, laboratories, industry sector, and start-up companies. Details

Deadline: March 19, 2023

Fellowship: Arturo Falaschi Postdoctoral Program

The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology offers short-term fellowships of one to six months for postdoctoral fellows who hold a recent PhD in life sciences or have at least three years of research experience. This fellowship aims to facilitate access to the latest research techniques and to strengthen capacity building. Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State and may not apply for fellowships to be undertaken in their country of origin unless they have been working abroad for, at least, the last 3 years and at the time of application. Details

Deadline: March 31, 2023

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Medical and Health Humanities

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, offers a Wellcome Trust-funded postdoctoral fellowship. The aim of the fellowship is to support and nurture a cohort of early career researchers who will work on the theme of Re-imagining Reproduction: Making babies, making kin and citizens in Africa. The postdoctoral fellow will be part of a team involved in the development of a research agenda that interrogates the re-imagining of reproductive scholarship on the African continent. Details

Deadline: rolling basis until the fellowship positions are filled

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Human Development and Social Justice Lab

The Human Development and Social Justice Research Lab (HDSJ) invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow position starting in the Fall of 2023. The postdoctoral scholar will work directly with Dr. Celia Fisher. We are seeking an early career scientist who is committed to research that advances health equity for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and economically marginalized children, youth, and young adults in areas including social determinants of sexual health, substance use, and social media and offline discrimination. The fellow will also be expected to develop and execute their own projects. The HDSJ lab is situated in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Ethics Education. Details

Deadline: rolling basis until the fellowship position is filled

Call For Papers: Climate Change and Human Health

As the world’s climate negotiators convene for COP27, a key theme to be addressed is the impact of climate change on human health and evidence-based solutions and adaptation actions. To help build a strong and openly accessible evidence base for decision-making, PLOS Climate, and PLOS Global Public Health are calling for submissions for a new Collection on Climate Change and Human Health. Submissions of research that address all aspects of the intersection between climate and health, from the changing burden of communicable and non-communicable disease to the impacts of extreme events on health systems, as well as research that assesses potential adaptations to build healthier and more resilient societies are welcome. Details

Deadline: April 28, 2023

Call for Abstracts: European Congress for Global Health

The overarching theme of the congress is planetary health, focusing on the health of ‘human civilizations and the national systems on which they depend’ and reflecting the interconnectedness of human health and climate change in a rapidly changing environment. The ultimate aim is to accelerate the understanding, appreciation, and connections between tropical medicine, global health, and the urgent field of planetary health. The thematic tracks include planetary health and health systems; infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases; non-communicable diseases; mental health; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and child and adolescent health. Details

Deadline: April 30, 2023

Call for papers: Ageing and health in Sub-Saharan Africa

The International Journal of Public Health (IJPH) – an independent non-profit society journal of the Swiss School of Public Health, open access, Impact Factor (2021) 5.1 – has launched a special issue/call centered around the three priority areas of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing: older persons and development, advancing health and well-being into old age and ensuring enabling and supportive environments. Original and review articles relevant to the priority areas and the key topics are invited. Details

Deadline: August 31, 2023

Call for papers: Science to foster WHO air quality guidelines values

The International Journal of Public Health (IJPH) – an independent non-profit society journal of the Swiss School of Public Health, open access, Impact Factor (2021) 5.1 welcomes original research, reviews or commentaries on the health effects of air pollution that foster the translation of research to policy and action. Particularly encouraged are submissions of research from low- and middle-income countries that are most heavily affected by air pollution, and typically understudied. Investigations in marginalized communities in high-income countries for evidence-based clean air policy and action will be of major interest too. Details

Deadline: November 2023

2023 Virchow Prize for Global Health  

The Virchow Prize for Global Health honors significant contributions towards strengthening global health through lifetime achievements and long-standing engagement. Eligible applicants are individuals, institutions, or organizations who have made significant contributions towards strengthening global health, whether through long-standing academic, political, humanitarian, social, research and development or economic engagement. Details

Deadline: 31 March 2023

The CARTA Evidence Website

An interactive platform, the CARTA Evidence Website aims to demonstrate the impact of the CARTA network by timeously tracking, collating, analysing, displaying, and enabling the uptake of empirical and theoretical evidence produced. The platform will create a collaborative environment for African scientists and evidence users working in communities of practice and across boundaries and disciplines. Building on available information technology, the end goal is increased access to data and speed of discovery and scientific advancement. CARTA Evidence will offer a comprehensive list of research evidence and publicly funded published data to promote accurate monitoring of population health and inform the precision of healthcare policy, and innovations, and the betterment of population health. Explore platform

Transmed Academy Self-Paced Online Courses

The  European infrastructure for translational medicine (EATRIS) through the Transmed Academy offers an online learning environment for translational scientists with a range of self-paced online courses, live courses, recorded webinars, and loads more. Explore the e-learning platform here

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