DELGEME CALL FOR MSC, PHD AND POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

The Developing Excellence in Leadership and Genetics Training for Malaria Elimination in sub-Saharan Africa (DELGEME) programme is launching new calls for MSc, PhD, Post Docs to start in 2016

Background

The Developing Excellence in Leadership and Genetics Training for Malaria Elimination in sub-Saharan Africa (DELGEME) is a new training programme sponsored by the Wellcome Trust Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Africa (DELTAS Africa) initiative in partnership with the Department of International Development (DFID) and the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA). The partner institutions are the University of Science Techniques and Technologies of Bamako Mali (USTTB), Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit in The Gambia, The United States Army Medical Research Directorate (USAMRD-K)/KEMRI Kenya, The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR)-Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana, The National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Tanzania, Université des Sciences de la Santé of Libreville, Gabon, Benhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) Germany/Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) Ghana, and the University of Oxford/Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute UK.

It is led by USTTB with MRC and USAMRD-K/KEMRI as the training hubs. In collaboration with MalariaGEN (www.malariagen.net) and the Plasmodium Diversity Network Africa (PDNA, http://www.cggh.org/collaborations/plasmodium-diversity-network-africa), DELGEME aims to enrich the pool of African Scientists working in African institutions with relevant expertise to leverage big genetics and genomics data in the drive for malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the next five years, DELGEME will be providing short-term and degree training (MSc, PhD, Post-doctoral) to at least 90 young African scientists. Fellowships will be hosted at an African institution with a curriculum in genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, biostatistics, data science and ethical issues in genetics/genomics. DELGEME fellows are expected to develop a research proposal that explore critical gaps in malaria genetics and molecular epidemiology to aid the malaria elimination agenda. Dedicated computational facilities will be available for fellows at the USTTB, the MRC, and USAMRD/KEMRI.

Objectives

To develop advanced technical and analytical skills of African scientists in relevant areas of Bioinformatics, next generation sequence analysis, population genetics, epidemiology, statistical and cellular/molecular biology in collaboration with local and International partners for malaria control and elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.

The specific aims of this call are to invite applicants for MSc, PhD and Post-Doctoral training in the above fields.

Evaluation criteria

·         The candidate’s qualifications and motivations;

·         The research quality of the project (for PhDs and Post-docs);

·         The relevance of the proposed project in relation to the objectives of the call for proposals (for PhDs and Post-Docs);

·         The academic basis of the PhD or Post-doc project at the relevant University or partner Institution. 

Who can apply? 

Only candidates who are nationals of PDNA memberi countries are eligible to respond to this call. It is a prerequisite that applications and projects are prepared in collaboration with at least one PDNA member institution. Prospective candidate must enroll for MSc or PhD in an appropriate Graduate School within Africa. It is desirable that a preliminary approval for enrolment of the MSc or PhD student in a graduate school has been obtained at the time of application. For PhDs and Post-Doctoral fellows it must be clearly demonstrated in the application that the proposed project is affiliated with an active research environment at a University/Research Institution.

Financial framework

The grant for each MSc fellowship will be up to £26,000 for two years, PhD fellowship will be up to £63,000 for 3 years and Post-doctoral fellowship will be up to £120,000 for 3 years. This amount includes student’s stipend, research cost, and other training/research related costs. The final amount awarded will be determined at the time of award notification.

Application procedure:

Step 1

Candidates must provide the following supporting documentation as part of their application

1. A cover page including Personal information:

a. Full names as they appear on applicant’s ID/passport;

b. Full contact details, including residential and postal address; email and telephone number(s); and

c. Name of institution at which the applicant wishes to undertake his/her training/degree (Master, PhD studies, Postdoctoral) study.

2. Letter of support from the prospective host PDNA Supervisor

3. A motivation letter (not longer than one A4 page – 500 words)

4. A research proposal outlining the problem statement, methodology, feasibility of the study and the contribution that it will make to the body of knowledge in the particular field of study (PhDs and Post-Doctoral Fellows only) (not longer than five A4 pages).

6. Two letters of recommendation from academic referees.

7. A certified copy of full academic transcript/s and certificates?

8. A copy of ID/passport

9. The most current CV (maximum 2 pages).