Abstract:
Inequities in global health research are well documented.
For example, training opportunities for US investigators
to conduct research in low-income and middle-income
countries (LMIC) have exceeded opportunities for LMIC
investigators to train and conduct research in high-income
countries. Reciprocal innovation addresses these inequities
through collaborative research across diverse global
settings.
The Fogarty International Center of the US National
Institutes of Health (NIH) promotes research capacity
building in LMICs. Fogarty K-grants for mentored career
development in global health are available for both US
and LMIC investigators, whereas the D43 is the standard
grant to support institutional training programmes in
LMIC. Other NIH institutes fund T32 training grants to
support biomedical research training in the USA, but
very few have any global health component. Most global
health training partnerships have historically focused on
research conducted solely in LMIC, with few examples
of bidirectional training partnerships. Opportunities may
exist to promote global health reciprocal innovation
(GHRI) research by twinning K-awardees in the USA with
those from LMIC or by intentionally creating partnerships
between T32 and D43 training programmes.
To sustain independent careers in GHRI research, trainees
must be supported through the path to independence
known as the K (mentored grantee)-to- R (independent
grantee) transition. Opportunities to support this transition
include comentorship, research training at both LMIC
and US institutions and protected time and resources for
research. Other opportunities for sustainability include
postdoctoral training before and after the K-award period,
absorption of trained researchers into home institutions,
South- South training initiatives and innovations to mitigate
brain drain.
