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To further scientific and technological cooperation between the scientific communities of Germany and the United States, a Letter of Intent was signed on May 27, 2014 to enable U.S.-based scientists and engineers with NSF-funded CAREER awards to pursue research collaboration with colleagues supported through German Research Foundation (DFG) grants. Connecting researchers with complementary strengths and shared interests promotes scientific progress in solving some of the world's most vexing problems. This international research opportunity is mutually beneficial to the U.S. participants and their hosts through cooperative activities during research visits and also by establishing international research partnerships to enrich future research activities in Germany and the U.S. Under the Letter of Intent, the DFG identifies DFG-funded research groups who wish to host CAREER awardees for research visits of up to one year in connection with their DFG funding. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) invites current CAREER awardees to apply for supplemental funding to support travel for research visits to any identified, appropriate DFG-funded research group. Further, the DCL gives instructions on how to apply and other relevant policies and requirements.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement invites applications from U.S. or African research institutions to plan research training and capacity building programs focused on emerging viral epidemics in collaboration with institutions in Guinea, Liberia, and/or Sierra Leone.  The application should propose a collaborative planning process to develop training approaches that will create sustainable research capacity for the early identification, transmission prediction, testing of public health responses, and assessing and addressing long term health sequelae related to emerging viral diseases that have the potential for regional and global pandemics.  

This FOA will support national facility based case management activities implemented through associations of persons living with HIV (PLHIV). Activities include peer support for HIV treatment adherence, preventing and minimizing loss-to-follow-up and improving retention in care, and facilitating linkage of all HIV patients and others affected by HIV to comprehensive HIV services. The FOA will support planning, program and financial management; coordination and collaboration with partners and stakeholders; capacity building at different levels; training and deployment of case managers and adherence supporters to high load HIV care and treatment facilities. The awardee will conduct supportive supervision, mentoring, monitoring and evaluation of case management activities, and will maintain an updated inventory of available services in the catchment area of respective health facilities. These activities will minimize patient attrition, optimize adherence and improve patient outcomes.

This initiative aims to: (1) enhance our understanding of the multi-level factors that influence HIV prevention strategy use among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in sub-Saharan Africa and (2) develop and test novel interventions to address these factors and enhance the uptake and adherence to HIV prevention strategies among AGYW in sub-Saharan Africa.  The goal of this initiative is to look at the multiple levels of influence on AGYW's behavior from the individual level, to her partners, family members and peers as well as cultural, social norms and structural factors that may influence uptake and adherence to prevention strategies.     

This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds from the NIH Common Fund (Common Fund), invites applications to support bioinformatics research training programs at low or middle income (LMIC) African country institutions with significant genomics research capacity.  African applicants may propose graduate degree and long term postdoctoral bioinformatics research training in collaboration with other African or high income country (HIC) collaborators.  It is expected that these training programs will address the need for bioinformatics research expertise in the H3Africa Consortium and result in sustainable centers of bioinformatics research training relevant to global health research for the African continent.

The overall goal of this initiative is to support the development of a sustainable critical mass of bioethics scholars in low and middle income country (LMIC) research intensive institutions with the capabilities to conduct original empirical or conceptual ethics research that addresses challenging issues in health research and research policy in these countries as well as provide research ethics leadership to their institutions, governments and international research organizations. FIC will support LMIC-U.S. collaborative institutional bioethics doctoral and postdoctoral research training programs that incorporate didactic, mentored research and training components to prepare a number of individuals with ethics expertise for positions of scholarship and leadership in health research institutions in the LMIC.

The overall goal of this initiative is to support the development of a sustainable critical mass of bioethics scholars in low and middle income country (LMIC) research intensive institutions with the capabilities to conduct original empirical or conceptual ethics research that addresses challenging issues in health research and research policy in these countries as well as provide research ethics leadership to their institutions, governments and international research organizations. FIC will support LMIC-U.S. collaborative institutional bioethics doctoral and postdoctoral research training programs that incorporate didactic, mentored research and training components to prepare a number of individuals with ethics expertise for positions of scholarship and leadership in health research institutions in the LMIC.

The U.S. Mission to UNESCO (USUNESCO) announces the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a new program to design and administer a three-year grants program aimed at identifying, developing, and expanding the most promising grassroots-led initiatives in Africa to help address the persistent gender gap in science, technology, engineering, arts/design, and math (STEAM) fields. The targeted African countries for the proposed grants program would be: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. This program aims to make progress toward eventually achieving gender parity in STEAM-related fields so that more African women and girls are empowered by the socioeconomic benefits derived from acquiring expertise in these fields and so that more women and girls contribute to innovation by creating, rather than just using, technology.

The Education Committee solicits proposals for funding visits of toxicologists to developing nations to expand awareness of toxicology and promote toxicology careers through interaction of toxicologists with undergraduate and graduate students. Up to $1250 funding is available per request. The Education Committee encourages the applicant to seek matching funding from partners, whether a SOT Special Interest Group, employer, or host institution. A letter from the contact at the institution to be visited is required and letters from sponsoring partner(s) would be included as part of the application.

Emphasis is placed on novel collaborations that bring together scientists preferably from different disciplines (e.g. from chemistry, physics, computer science, engineering) to focus on problems in the life sciences. The research teams must be international. The principal applicant must be from one of the eligible countries. However, other participating scientists and laboratories may be situated anywhere in the world.

AAAS offers fellowships in nine programmatic areas. Specific host offices and assignments vary from year to year. Congressional Diplomacy, Security& Development Energy, Environment & Agriculture Health, Education & Human Services Big Data & Analytics Judicial Branch Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Stewardship AAAS Overseas Fellowships at USAID Missions (limited eligibility) Global Health & Development Fellowships (limited eligibility)

The Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) offers postdoctoral research fellowships to provide opportunities for scientists early in their careers to work within and across traditional disciplinary lines, develop partnerships, and avail themselves of unique resources, sites and facilities. The fellowship program is intended to recognize beginning investigators of significant potential, and provide them with experience that will establish them in positions of leadership in the scientific community. During tenure, fellows will affiliate with an appropriate research institution(s) and conduct research on topics supported by OCE. The OCE fellowship program has two tracks: 1) Traick 1 (Broadening Participation) and 2) Track 2 (International). Fellowships are awards to individuals, not organizations, and are administered by the fellows.

The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology to recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selected areas supported by BIO and with special goals for human resource development in biology.  The fellowships encourage independence at an early stage of the research career to permit Fellows to pursue their research and training goals in the most appropriate research locations regardless of the availability of funding for the Fellows at that site.  For FY 2013, these BIO programs are (1) Broadening Participation in Biology; (2) Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences and Engineering; (3) National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowships; and (4) International Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology.  These areas change periodically as new scientific and infrastructure opportunities present themselves. For this reason, this solicitation will be changed as necessary to reflect the areas being funded.

The goal of this funding opportunity announcement is to (i) foster joint activities between US and Indian scientists on affordable diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, and (ii) address medical needs in low-resource settings, taking advantage of opportunities and technological advances, to aid the development of appropriate affordable medical devices. To address needs and opportunities, Indian and U.S. scientists will undertake a coordinated program that will involve collaborative, peer-reviewed research and technology development projects. Collaboration between engineers and scientists in the U.S. and India will be based on mutual benefit, trust, and a shared commitment to development of diagnostic or therapeutic technologies for people in low-resource settings.

PEPFAR South Sudan works in collaboration with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Ministry of Health (MOH) in implementing the HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan (NSP) based on a priority action approach and strong collaboration and coordination among different stakeholders. PEPFAR South Sudan has prioritized supporting the MOH in strengthening their national laboratory system with the primary objective of supporting the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and surveillance of HIV through high-quality laboratory services. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits technical assistance (TA) to strengthen the GOSS MOH laboratory and blood transfusion services systems. Outcomes will include the overall strengthening of the National Reference Lab, implementing and achieving accreditation for quality assurance systems; strengthening service delivery through increased technical assistance to lab testing programs, and training and accreditation for the national blood safety programs. The ultimate outcome is a national integrated quality-assured network of tiered laboratories providing quality clinical laboratory services with the capacity to support the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and surveillance of HIV and other diseases and support the establishment of the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and the National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS).

CDC, in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Program/Department of AIDS Control, has successfully laid the foundation for quality standards and approaches within India's vast HIV laboratory network through a previous five-year laboratory strengthening funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Many achievements were made during the course of the five-year project period, including accreditation of national and state reference labs. This follow-on FOA is expected to build upon and sustain previous accomplishments through onsite mentoring and in service staff training with an eye to higher quality services and scale up. A plan will be developed to facilitate laboratory quality at the grassroots level for 12,000 + Integrated HIV Testing and Counseling Centers (ICTCs). This shall be done through trainer/mentor creation within the HIV laboratory network to assist peripheral laboratories in implementing minimum quality standards. Given its expanded technical assistance (TA) scope, it is also expected to build the capacity and assure quality in a phased manner for HIV related tests like CD4 enumeration, HIV viral load and STI through strengthening leadership and mentoring capacity within the laboratory network. Now in Phase IV of its HIV/AIDS response, the Government of India (GoI) is keen to address any gaps in testing coverage.

Reliable, efficient laboratory services and networks are fundamental components of effective, well-functioning health systems and are essential for patient management, disease detection and control and surveillance. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support the Ministry of Health in Mozambique to strengthen the integrated national laboratory network in order to ensure the provision of quality laboratory services for clinical diagnosis, screening, research, and surveillance to support HIV care and treatment and the achievement of an AIDS free generation. The FOA will address the following cross-cutting elements of laboratory systems: governance and management of the integrated laboratory network, strengthening institutions to build and retain a quality laboratory workforce, and building technical and scientific capacity and implementing quality management systems towards accreditation. The expected project outcomes include:* Increased efficiency of laboratory network operations* Increased implementation of quality management systems through a technically and financially sustainable quality improvement and accreditation program owned and implemented by the Ministry of Health* An increase in the coverage and quality of external quality assessment (EQA) services* Improved adherence to laboratory biosafety standards* Improved quality of laboratory pre-service training * Increase in number of laboratory managers and leaders with Master's level training* Improved capacity of laboratory workforce and decreased reliance on external training support

Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) is an NSF-wide program that supports international activities across all NSF supported disciplines. The primary goal of PIRE is to support high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration. PIRE seeks to catalyze a higher level of international engagement in the U.S. science and engineering community. International partnerships are essential to addressing critical science and engineering problems. In the global context, U.S. researchers and educators must be able to operate effectively in teams with partners from different national environments and cultural backgrounds. PIRE promotes excellence in science and engineering through international collaboration and facilitates development of a diverse, globally-engaged, U.S. science and engineering workforce.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in Malawi is to strengthen the laboratory systems by training human resources, improving laboratory infrastructure, building capacity in data management and use, and improving quality management systems. The objectives are to provide pre-service and in-service training for various cadre or laboratory staff, and to equip and perform alterations and refurbishments to at least 10 laboratories to perform essential microbiology, mycobacteriology, parasitology, hematology and chemistry. The FOA will also develop laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and improve the use of generated data in decision making, increase quality by supporting laboratories to develop and adhere to quality management systems (QMS), and strengthen quality control and quality assurance. The activities of the program will include health systems strengthening by increasing human resources, implementing necessary alterations and refurbishment to physical infrastructure, improving the specimen referral system, and improving data generation and handling capabilities through an electronic information system.

Announced in June 2013 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and formally launched in October 2013 by Rt Hon. David Willetts MP, the Global Innovation Initiative is a higher education partnership grant opportunity established between the United States and the United Kingdom aimed at strengthening multilateral research collaborations between universities in the U.S., UK, and other selected countries. The Global Innovation Initiative will award grants to university consortia focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related issues of global significance that foster cutting-edge multinational research and strengthen institutional international partnerships

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Burma and the National Department of Health (NDOH) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) plan to rapidly expand high-quality antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in the coming years by increasing capacity at existing delivery sites and decentralizing selected services to provincial, district and township levels. In order to accomplish this expansion, the MOH and NDOH need strong laboratory systems that ensure high-quality HIV diagnostic and clinical monitoring of patients at the existing and new service delivery sites. This will require strengthening the capacity of Burma's National Health Laboratory (NHL) and Papua New Guinea's Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), as well as building capacity of sub-national laboratories and improving the laboratory network in these countries.This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will be awarded to a technical assistance (TA) partner to provide support to NHL and CPHL in several key areas, including: (1) developing and helping implement standard operating procedures, policies, guidelines, and training materials related to management and operations of national and sub-national laboratories; (2) building capacity of NHL and CPHL staff to validate, conduct, and ensure strong (and often cross-cutting) quality assurance and monitoring systems for HIV-related diagnostic and clinical monitoring activities; (3) strengthening the overall laboratory network in Burma and PNG that may include specimen transport and right-sizing of various classes of laboratories; and (4) providing supporting mentoring of NHL and NDOH staff and opportunities for professional development.