AFRICA HEALTH RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMME
HOW TO APPLY
OUR PROGRAMME
OUR PROGRAMME
UK APPLICANTS
Eligibility criteria
The PhD programme is open to all health professionals registered with UK professional bodies who want to undertake research focused on the major global health challenges in Africa. You must be:
· Eligible to work in the UK and qualify for home or UK-level fees
· Willing to be based in one of the programme's African Partner Institutions for 18-24 months
· Propose research within the remit of the programme, focusing on issues of public health importance to Africa
Wellcome’s definition of health professionals include but is not limited to:
Art therapists, chiropodists/podiatrists, chiropractors, clinical psychologists, dental hygienists, dental nurses, dental therapists, dentists, dieticians, drama therapists, health visitors, healthcare scientists (in life sciences, physiological sciences, physical sciences and biomechanical engineering, and bioinformatics), medical graduates, midwives, music therapists, non-medical public health specialists, nurses, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, optometrists and dispensing opticians, orthoptists, osteopaths, paramedics, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists and orthotists, radiographers, social workers, speech and language therapists, vets.
Funding
The programme will cover the fellow’s salary (this will be matched as closely as possible to your current salary), research costs, PhD registration fees, and overseas living costs.
Application Process
We have a maximum of 5 PhD fellowships to offer per year. We have one application cycle per year over five years, with each round advertised in the last quarter of the year. Applicants apply via the vacancies section of the LSHTM website.
Our application process is split into two stages:
Stage 1
The application needs to contain the following elements:
1. Application form - completed on the jobs.lshtm.ac.uk website
2. Supporting letter from academic referee
3. Completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (only used for programme monitoring)
The application form assesses your career history to date, your achievements in research to date, your experience of working in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), your motivation to enrol in this PhD programme, how the fellowship will support your ambitions to develop an academic career an outline of your ideas for a PhD project. It is not expected that you will have identified a definite PhD supervisor and developed a specific project by this stage, although you have broad ideas for your research project, potential supervisory team, UK institution and African Partner Institution. This will enable us to understand the relevance of your proposed research to the CREATE PhD Programme, and to direct you to appropriate supervisors should you be shortlisted.
Applicants will be shortlisted based on this application form by a panel comprising multidisciplinary research experts and health professionals from each of the UK institutions. Due to the high volume of applications, no feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants at this stage.
Stage 1 guidance notes can be downloaded here
Stage 2
Shortlisted applicants from Stage 1 will submit an application for one of our five available PhD fellowships. This will include
1) A project details form
2) A detailed budget
3) Endorsement of application and budget from your proposed host UK and African Institutions.
You will need to identify a UK institution from one of our five UK partner institutions where you will register your PhD and an African host Institution from one of our 6 African Partner Institutions (APIs) where you will based when you conduct your research. You will also need a UK supervisor from the Institution where you will register your PhD and an African supervisor based in the country where you will conduct your research and an African supervisor. Your supervisors will support you to develop your project proposal, which will specify research aims, hypotheses, approach, impact, and budget. At both UK and African institutions you need a sponsor . Ensure at an early stage that your supervisors (including any co-supervisors), sponsors and collaborators are able to confirm their contribution to the application.
Each shortlisted applicant will be designated a Programme Director from a UK and African Partner Institution to signpost them to appropriate supervisors and provide guidance on their application. In addition, all shortlisted applicants will be invited to a pre-application webinar to support them to develop a strong proposal.
The final selection will be made based on both your written submission and interview. We will assess:· The importance of the research question, and the scientific merit, feasibility and the likely impact of your proposed project
· Your plans for research training
· The suitability of your sponsor, supervisory team and training environment
Guidance for Stage 2 applications is available here.
Please see recordings of a Stage 2 pre-application webinar 2022 here
APPLICATION Timelines
Applications for 2025/26
· Stage 1 Applications Open: Monday 9th September 2024
· Stage 1 Webinar and Q&A: Wednesday 16th October 2024 12:00 BST
· Deadline for Stage 1 applications: Friday 8th November 2024 (23.59 GMT)
· Stage 1 outcomes communicated: mid-December 2024
· Deadline for Stage 2 application: Tuesday 18th March 2025 (23.59 GMT)
· Interviews: 13th and 14th May 2025
· Stage 2 outcomes communicated: mid-May 2025
OUR PROGRAMME
OUR PROGRAMME
AFRICAN APPLICANTS
CREATE will provide 25 PhD fellowships to African nationals, matched to the fellowships awarded to UK health professionals. The African and UK fellows will be integrated into this unique programme to tackle some of the pressing public health issues affecting Africa.
Up to 5 fellowships will be awarded every year over 5 years, starting from 2022. Applicants must have the appropriate level of experience in health for the project they intend to undertake (i.e. not necessarily a health professional). Applicants will apply for defined projects spanning a range of disciplines including epidemiology, data science, statistics, social science and anthropology, laboratory science and health economics. Fellows will be part of a close-knit cohort, receiving bespoke research training and professional skills and mentorship to equip them to be future global health leaders.
Successful applicants will be matched to one of the six African Partner Institutions in one of five African countries (Ethiopia, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia or Zimbabwe).
Eligibility Criteria
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African national
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Professional with appropriate experience in health (note - not necessarily a health professional i.e. doctor, nurse etc)
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Willing to be based in one of the Programme African Partner Institutions (linked to the PhD) for the duration of their PhD
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Requisite training required to undertake the PhD Project (as specified for each project)
Funding
The programme will provide a stipend, research costs, PhD registration, and training costs.
Application Process
Please find more information below for African fellowships available through the CREATE PhD Programme.
See the individual projects listed in the table and links for further information, as well as the application documentation, for each fellowship.
Project Ref # | Project Title | Countries in which research will be conducted | Base Location | University Awarding PhD | African and UK Supervisors – names and contact | Eligibility | Closing date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GA2401 | Exploring the immunological basis for fractional dose yellow fever vaccination by the intradermal and sub-cutaneous routes | The Gambia | The Gambia | LSHTM | Prof Ed Clarke - Ed.Clarke@lshtm.ac.uk / Dr Martin Goodier - Martin.Goodier@lshtm.ac.uk | Masters level qualification in immunology or a closely related biomedical science area, strong baseline knowledge of vaccine immunology and of the basis for the serological responses to vaccination | Closed |
UG2301 | Understanding the lives of caregivers of older people living with dementia in Uganda: Mapping unmet needs and co-developing solutions | Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit | Makerere University, Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit - Asst Prof Eugene Kinyanda, KCL - Dr Rosie Mayston, Makerere University - Ass Prof Noeline Nakasujia | Undergraduate and/or postgraduate degree in a social science subject | Closed |
UG2302 | Exploring health economics of switching to injectable antiretroviral therapy in African adults living with HIV | Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit | University of Sussex - Brighton and Sussex Medical School | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit - Asst Prof Eugene Ruzagira, BSMS - Dr Natalia Ivashikina | BSc/MSc in mathematical modelling, statistics or health economics | Closed |
UG2303 | Exploring metabolic outcomes in African adults living with HIV switching to injectable antiretroviral therapy | Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit | University of Sussex - Brighton and Sussex Medical School | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit - Prof Moffat Nyirenda, BSMS - Dr Fiona Cresswell | Medically qualified (MBBS/MBCHb) or MSc level epidemiology or statistics | Closed |
UG2304 | Should Controlled Human Infection Model studies be conducted for vaccine development for Low and Middle Income Countries? | Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit | University of Sussex - Brighton and Sussex Medical School | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit - Asst Prof Eugene Ruzagira, BSMS - Dr Natalia Ivashikina | Undergraduate degree and MSc training. Experience related to vaccine development | Closed |
UG2305 | The impact of the gut microbiome on vaccine-specific immune responses among rural and urban Ugandan adolescents | Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit | Makerere University, Uganda | MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit - Dr Gyaviira Nkurunungi, BSMS - Prof Simon Waddell | MSc in Immunology | Closed |
ZI2301 | Validate a screening tool and develop an intervention for older adults which addresses challenges to mental health and cognitive function | Zimbabwe | THRU-Zim - BRTI | Brighton and Sussex Medical School | BSMS - Dr Maya Semrau, Dr Natalia Ivashikina
BRTI / Zimbabwe - Dr Rudo Chingono, Prof Celia Gregson
| IELTS in the last 2 years; overall score of at least 7, MSc in Public Health, Health Policy, or Epidemiology completed within last 4 years (see full advert for more details) | Closed |
ZI2302 | Understanding the landscape of substance abuse (SU) among youth in Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe, Biomedical Research & Training Institute | King's College London | To be confirmed | MSc in a relevant health-related discipline (Epidemiology or Public Health, Social Sciences, Medical Anthropology) completed within last 4 years | Closed |
ZI2303 | Improving the identification of neonates in Zimbabwe with sepsis | Zimbabwe | THRU-Zim at the Biomedial Research and Training Institute | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | To be confirmed | MSc in Epidemiology or Public Health, completed within last 4 years | Closed |
ZI2501 | Promoting convalescence in children recovering from severe acute malnutrition | Zimbabwe | Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research | QMUL | Zvitambo - Prof Mutsa Bwakura-Dangarembizi (mbwakura@uzchs-ctrc.org), QMUL - Prof Andrew Prendergast (a.prendergast@qmul.ac.uk) | MSc in Epidemiology, public health, laboratory science, or a related field | 30th April 2025 |
The PhD programme is open to all candidates who want to undertake research focused on the major global health challenges in Africa. This fellowship programme will provide a 3-year research PhD training fellowship. Candidates apply through a localised admissions process at one of the African Partner Institutions (API), but if awarded a fellowship can be registered at either the API or another institution (e.g. a UK institution) dependent on the individual circumstances of the award.
PhD fellowships are to have a duration of up to 36 months. The funding will cover tuition fees (if applicable), a stipend, and project related costs such as travel and training. A full list of the PhD fellowship projects is shown in Table 1. The funding available for specific research projects will be determined by the individual APIs.
Candidates submit an application to their API of choice, for a particular pre-identified project, along with any other required documentation (please consult the local recruitment contact point and/or website for further information).
APPLICATION Timelines
Application Timelines
Advertisements for the upcoming African fellowships will be published aove when available.
See individual links above for more information.
APPLICATION Contacts
Application Contacts
Please get in touch with the following individuals to submit your applications (after completing the necessary documentation indicated in each individual fellowship, as per table above):
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Uganda (MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit) - Achilles Kiwanuka - achilles.kiwanuka@mrcuganda.org
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Zambia (Zambart) - Kwame Shanaube - kshanaube@zambart.org.zm
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Zimbabwe (Biomedical Research Training Institute) - Katharina Kranzer - create-phd@lshtm.ac.uk