Career Development Fellowship (Fellow: DR. STEPHEN WALIMBWA)
The EDCTP-TDR Research & Development Fellowship supports researchers and key members of clinical trial research teams from Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) to acquire specific skills in clinical research and development through placements in pharmaceutical companies, product development partnerships (PDPs) and research institutions. Dr. Walimbwa was hosted for one year at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Basel, Switzerland. Under the mentorship of NIBR scientists within in translational medicine, he was part of clinical trials that provided early proof of efficacy in humans and clinical trials that profiled the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (what the body does to the drug), and pharmacodynamics (effect of the drug on the body) of novel compounds. Some of these novel compounds will be key in management of autoimmune diseases, neglected tropical diseases, malaria and rare diseases.
The EDCTP-TDR Research & Development Fellowship allowed Dr. Walimbwa receive training and acquire skills and expertise in the design, set-up, operationalization and follow-up of phase I-IIa clinical trials. Furthermore, he was able to establish networks within Swiss academia and pharmaceutical industry which will provide opportunities for collaboration, career progression and development of strategies for tackling some poverty related diseases.
The experience and expertise in early phase clinical trials will be vital to the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Clinical Trial Unit’s capacity to undertake early phase clinical trials.
