Charity plugs funding gap for network that helps African medical scientists build their careers
An initiative that supports young life scientists in Africa has been extended for five years thanks to a charity investment.
The extension will support a second cohort of Crick Africa Network research fellows for four years at one of the initiative’s host institutions, according to a 14 August announcement. This was made possible by a £7.5 million (US$9.6m) investment by LifeArc, a British medical research charity.
The Crick Africa Network was launched in 2017 with a £6m grant from the UK’s now defunct Global Challenges Research Fund. The fellowships aim to help African postdoctoral scientists build independent careers in Africa.
Fellows also get access to research equipment and mentorship at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Second-round fellows will also be able to use LifeArc’s facilities in Stevenage, England, and Edinburgh.
Applications open
The second round of applications opens this month. The first supported 18 fellows based at the initiative’s five partner institutions in Africa: the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, both in South Africa, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens in Ghana and the Gambia’s MRC unit, which is part of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“We’ve already seen incredible success from our previous fellows who are establishing themselves as science leaders, growing scientific and training capacity in Africa, and contributing to global biomedical research,” said Jean Langhorne, the initiative’s director.
“We’re delighted to develop CAN further and partner with LifeArc who will bring their expertise and financial support to the network.”
LifeArc said its sponsorship is part of a push to invest over £100m in global health. “We look forward to working with the fellows as they build their careers,” said Mike Strange, who heads up global health at the charity.