The UW/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is pleased to announce the 2024 International Pilot Award (IPA) recipients. The purpose of this award program is to support early-stage investigators (at a senior stage of training or recently independent) in the implementation of innovative and collaborative HIV-related research projects in international settings. These projects may initiate new research or leverage new directions for research that will provide important preliminary data to seed future larger proposals. Recipients are awarded up to $15,000 total (direct costs) over one year.
Congratulations to our 2024 CFAR IPA Awardees, Dr. Nafissatou Leye of the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF), and Dr. Elinor Sveum of the University of Washington!
Nafissatou Leye, PhD, MSc
Deputy Head of the Molecular Biology Laboratory, Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF)
Project Title: Surveillance of TLD resistance in West Africa: Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal
Mentor: Geoffrey Gottlieb (UW)
Collaborating Investigators: Mr. Aladje Balde (Jean Piaget University); Mme Menilita Paula Varela dos Santos Barbosa (Virology laboratory of the National Institute of Public Health)
Dr. Nafissatou Leye is a health researcher and deputy manager of the molecular biology department at the Institute for Health Research, Epidemiological Surveillance and Training (IRESSEF) in Dakar, Senegal. Dr. Leye completed a PhD in molecular Biology through a co-mentorship program between the HIV reference laboratory in Dakar and the Translational Research on HIV and Infectious Disease (TRANSVIHMI) unit in Montpellier, France. Currently, Dr. Leye is working on infectious disease research and leads the HIV EID and viral Load EQA program at IRESSEF. This CFAR Award pilot project will build capacity on HIV drug resistance in West African countries, one of the key tools to predict and monitor the effectiveness of Tenofovir-Lamivudine-Dolutegravir regimen in the region.
Elinor Sveum, MD, MSPH
Population Health Research Fellow, UW
Project Title: Understanding opportunities to improve sexual and reproductive health among women in refugee settlements in Uganda
Mentor: Kelli O’Laughlin (UW)
Collaborating Investigators: Timothy Muwonge (Infectious Diseases Institute)
Dr. Elinor Sveum is currently a Population Health Research Fellow at the University of Washington Department of Emergency Medicine. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health, refugee health, implementation science, and integration of health services. Her research is currently focused on improving the management of sexually transmitted infections among reproductive age women in refugee settlements in Uganda. Past projects include HIV care delivery among refugees and trauma care in low-resource settings. She is looking forward to building upon the initial research done during this grant to pilot an STI screening bundle for women at refugee health centers in Uganda.
Faculty Profile: Dr. Elinor Sveum
To learn more about about the CFAR International Pilot Award, click here or contact us at cfardev@uw.edu.