The Vanderbilt Institute for Research Development and Ethics (VIRDE) welcomed eleven medical and public health professionals from Argentina, Brazil, Haiti, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia to Vanderbilt for a one-month training course in October 2022. The course covers grant writing and research ethics and is facilitated by the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH).
VIRDE scholars receive intensive training in research development and productivity, and the course is intended to further develop necessary skills to conduct responsible human subjects’ research and develop a grant proposal for submission. VIRDE trainees also complete specially tailored coursework in research ethics and integrity. Scholars are matched with a Vanderbilt faculty mentor to aid them in the grant development process.
During the month and under their mentor’s guidance, Scholars refine an NIH-style grant proposal. The month concludes with a mock study review session to provide proposal feedback. VIRDE Scholars receive a certificate on the completion of the course.
Since its establishment in 2009, 70 scholars have completed the VIRDE program, and 54% percent of their grant submissions were awarded. More information about the program’s outputs can be found in this BMC Medical Education article.
2022 VIRDE Scholars
Aishatu Adamu, MBBS, MSC, Public Health Physician, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
Aishatu Nalado, MBBS, PhD, FWACP, Consultant Nephrologist, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, Nigeria
Anas Ismail, MBBS, MD, Associate Professor, Consultant Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Bayero University/Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
Artur Trancoso Lopo de Queiroz, PhD, Public Health Researcher, Bioinformatics, FIOCRUZ - Fundação Osvaldo Cruz, Brazil
Ellen Besa, PhD, MSc, Research Scientist, Tropical Gastroenterology and Nutrition Group, Zambia
Fatima Damagum Mohammed, MBBS, Consultant Family Physician, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
Florida Joseph Muro, MD, MSc, PhD, Head of Community Health Department, KCMC, Tanzania
Pablo D. Radusky, PhD, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Buenos Aires; Associate Social Researcher, Fundación Huésped, Argentina
Reena Sehgal, PhD, MA, Research Associate, Public Health Foundation of India, India
Samuel Pierre, MD, Clinical Research Site Coordinator, GHESKIO, Haiti
Sepiso K. Masenga, BSc, MSc, PhD, Head of Department Physiological Sciences, Mulungushi University, Zambia