Clinical Research Platforms

The Research Department has solidified research platforms nationally in different regions and districts of Uganda where IDI operates, to suit a wide variety of research priorities :

The Adult Infectious Diseases Clinic (IDC) at Mulago Hospital

The IDI flagship clinic at Mulago hospital [Uganda’s national referral hospital] offers access to over 7,000 HIV infected patients including those newly diagnosed, 1st line, 2nd line and 3rd line patients, as well as specialised clinics for special populations such as TB patients, pregnant women, adolescents and young adults as well as discordant couples. Research conducted here directly benefits from seamless access and proximity to all IDI systems including excellent clinical facilities, statistics and data fax management, information and communication systems, and an in-house College of American Pathologists (CAP) -certified lab among other things.

The Mid Western HIV Project

IDI is implementing significant prevention, care and treatment programs in the south western part of Uganda, particularly in the districts of Hoima, Buliisa, Kiryandongo, Masindi, Kibaale, Kagadi, Kakumiro.

As part of the Fogarty Scholars program which paired foreign scholars with Ugandan partners, IDI built a clinical research site in this area and initiated a prospective observational cohort of over 1,000 people. Clinical endpoints include mortality, TB, crypotococcus, and immune recovery. Baseline cardiovascular information is being collected in preparation for a potential longer‐term longitudinal observational cohort.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Clinics

IDI supports the KCCA clinic network of 10 facilities to build capacity for prevention, care and treatment of infectious diseases within Kampala City (with a population of approx. 3 million).  IDI leverages this relationship with KCCA to provide a clinical research platform; several research projects have been and are undertaken using this platform including projects implemented through the Infectious Diseases Network for Treatment and Research in Africa(INTERACT) umbrella (funded by the European Union and the Dutch Government) and others implemented through the Makerere University “Learning Grant” (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

Gulu University & Lacor Hospital

IDI works with Gulu University and Lacor Hospital (both in Gulu district) to conduct research particularly in TB. IDI spearheaded the performance of an environmental scan with Gulu University to determine how Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) strengths could be leveraged to strengthen research, service and training for both institutions. This highlighted possible key areas of collaboration and has already culminated into 3 collaborative research initiatives (focusing on laboratory capacity building and creation of a TB electronic database at Lacor Hospital, as well as supporting the development of a Demographic Surveillance Site (DSS) by Gulu University with Swedish government support.