Doris Duke
Clinical Research Fellowship
for Medical Students
Perelman School of Medicine
at the University of Pennsylvania
International Opportunities
Background
The University of Pennsylvania has a very robust clinical activity at the Princess Marina Hospital, the main hospital 
in Gaborone, Botswana, with the constant presence of Penn faculty, residents, and medical students. Supporting this activity is a Penn funded administrative support core, which takes responsibility for housing of the Penn community at the Princess Marina Hospital. Complementing the Penn clinical activity are numerous ongoing research projects related to HIV/AIDS at both the Princess Marina Hospital and the University of Botswana. The two Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellows will participate in these research opportunities in Botswana. More info about the Botswana-UPenn Partnership program in Botswana is available at http://www.upenn.edu/botswana/index.html.
Additional Fellowship Year Details
- Fellowship begins July 1.
- Fellows are assigned two mentors, one based at Penn and one based in Botswana. In addition, both fellows in Botswana will meet regularly with a Penn faculty member based in Botswana to review progress on their projects and discuss other clinical research topics.
- Summer and early fall are spent in Philadelphia with international and domestic Fellows, taking both didactic courses and preparing for work in Botswana, including writing a research protocol.
- Fellows spend early fall through mid-spring conducting research in Botswana. They participate in monthly journal clubs with the domestic fellows via Skpye.
- Fellows return to Philadelphia in mid-spring and remain in the program until the end of June completing data analysis, manuscript writing, and participating in ongoing activities of the domestic Clinical Research Fellowship at Penn, including the annual research meeting.
Potential Mentors
Below is a list of a couple potential faculty mentors and some of their ongoing projects in Botswana.
- Dr. Tonya Arscott-Mills (Pediatrics) *
tonyaarscottmills@yahoo.com
- Assessing barriers to implementation of pediatric isoniazid prophylaxis to child TB contacts. This would involve combined qualitive/quantitative research to assess barriers to uptake of this effective strategy to prevent TB in children.
- Dr. Jacqueline Firth *
DrJacquieBUP@gmail.com
- Adult and Pediatric MDR TB with a special focus on contact tracing - Dr. Robert Gross (Infectious Disease)
http://www.cceb.upenn.edu/faculty/index.php?id=125
grossr@mail.med.upenn.edu
- Tlhomamiso: Pharmacogenetics and HIV treatment outcomes - Dr. Carrie Kovarik (Dermatology)
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/dermatol/faculty/kovarik.html
carrie.kovarik@uphs.upenn.edu
- TB contact tracing using 3 source case approaches
- Evaluation and Integration of mHealth in Botswana - Dr. Elizabeth Lowenthal (Pediatrics)
lowenthale@email.chop.edu
- Adherence to treatment among HIV+ adolescents in Botswana
- Cognitive assessments of HIV+ and HIV- adolescents and risk behaviors in Botswana - Dr. Doreen Ramagola-Masire *
Doreen.masire@gmail.com
- Women's health program for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions - Dr. Andrew Steenhoff (Pediatrics) *
http://www.chop.edu/doctors/steenhoff-andrew.html
steenhoff@email.chop.edu
- Novel diagnostics in pediatric tuberculosis
- Evaluation of TB screening and diagnostic approaches for HIV-infected and other high-risk children in Botswana
- TB contact tracing using 3 source case approaches
- Pediatric mortality in Botswana - Dr. Nicola Zetola *
nzetola@gmail.com
- TB transmission: population and individual-level epidemiological studies that combine traditional and molecular epidemiological approaches to determine the impact of HIV, population dynamics and drug resistance on the transmission of TB.
- Socio-economical and clinical factors that determine outcomes of TB and MDR TB patients
- Women's health program for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions
* Botswana-based mentor
| Botswana-UPenn Partnership Office |
Fellow researching in hospital |
Updated November 8, 2012