Developing a pool of trained clinical trialists to advance health research

In accordance with WANETAM’s mission to enhance regional, national, institutional, and individual capacities for conducting research, including clinical trials, the network provided an on-the-job training for two clinical trialists. The two-month hands-on training conducted at the MRC Unit The Gambia, exposed the participants to the process of conducting a successful trial. As part of their training, the participants joined the team implementing the “Fractional Dose Yellow Fever Vaccination in Gambian Infants” clinical trial.

Aissata Diarra a Medical Doctor and Clinical Site Coordinator for the International study on COVID-19 Vaccine to assess Immunogenicity, Reactogenicity and Efficacy (InVITE) at the University Clinical Research Center (UCRC), Mali highlighted that, the training deepened her interest in vaccine trials as a concentration for her PhD. “My personal objective coming to the training was to develop a research idea for my PhD training. I am now working on a good review of the literature in this direction and finding a research question whose impact will be a reduction in preventable deaths” she said.

For Zakariah Buwah, a Research Fellow at Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana, being able to support the implementation of the yellow fever trial from the point of site assessment, vaccine receipt, and site preparation through to site initiation, was a dream come true citing his strong interest in understanding how vaccine trials are done to inform and improve existing policies in public health.

He highlighted that the training equipped him with the knowledge and skills to contribute more meaningfully to combating infectious diseases. “Embarking on this training was not only an opportunity to advance my career, but also a chance to contribute to groundbreaking research that can transform healthcare in West Africa and beyond” he said.

The training provided Aissata and Zakariah with an opportunity to immerse themselves  in learning about trial designs, ethical considerations, data management, and monitoring of trial documents and facilities. The state-of-the-art facilities at MRC Unit The Gambia and leading experts in the field of clinical trials the interacted with within the Network were also invaluable. Recognising that research is multidisciplinary, they were also equipped with the understanding that conducting a successful clinical trial requires the combined and coordinated action of all stakeholders, ranging from community awareness to biological examination of samples by the clinic and data management require.

The training of clinical trialists supported by EDCTP is part of WANETAM’s efforts to develop of pool of highly skilled personnel across the sub-region to support clinical trials and advance scientific research.