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Ms
Norah Mawoko

Botswana

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Project Title

Pfizer US

Project Objectives

1.To be mentored and capacitated to design, prepare, conduct and manage preclinical and clinical industry sponsored trials under the supervision of expert scientists at the European host organization. 2.To be mentored in the use of the skills obtained during the training and integrate them into my routine work on my return to the home organisation in Africa. This will involve working on both publicly and industry funded clinical trials running through the Botswana Harvard Partnership (part of the ACTG, IMPAACT, and HPTN networks). I will also train local colleagues through workshops, seminars and presentations, and liaise closely with the medicine regulatory authorities in Botswana on my return. 3.To attend scientific seminars, conferences, and workshops, where I will learn the key concepts involved in new drug and vaccine development for poverty related infectious diseases in LMIC. 4.To be mentored in fund raising activities and leadership roles for new clinical trial projects.

Host Organisation

Department Institution Country
Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) BW

EDCTP Project

TMA2019IF-2858

EDCTP Program

EDCTP2

EDCTP Project Call

EDCTP Clinical Research & Development Fellowship (R&D F)

Study Design

Placement

Project Summary

I have worked hard throughout my career to date to build knowledge and experience through my studies, training, and professional activities in pharmacy and clinical research. However, having reached my current position of senior clinical trial pharmacist at the leading clinical research institution in Botswana, my career progression has stalled as I have been unable to acquire the skills and competencies locally to qualify me as a mature and independent researcher. The objective of this fellowship is to equip me with these specific skills and competencies that will enable me to develop and enhance my career in clinical research, with a focus on the development and investigation of new pharmaceutical products. A key training need is to learn more about the development, validation and approval of new pharmaceutical products. By enhancing my understanding I hope to be able to become involved in these processes myself. I hope to achieve this by attending formal educational events such as workshops and conferences as well as through ad-hoc learning whilst being immersed in a placement at a leading European organisation. A core component of this fellowship would be the opportunity to interact with individuals working at pharmaceutical companies, academic instutitions and clinical research sponsors. By understanding more about their individual roles and learning from these networking opportunities I hope to develop a greater understanding of how I could shape my career development. My long-term aim is to work as part of a team in the development and bringing to market of new pharmaceutical products. I would like to be involved in the grant or proposal writing process, working alongside experienced clinical researchers and my home supervisor throughout all activities. By being involved in the pre-clinical, clinical and registration stages of development I will improve my core competencies in Good Clinical Practice and the practicalities of obtaining ethical and regulatory approvals. Through this experience I also expect to learn more about the ethical and safety issues that are considered for the protection of human subjects in clinical research, as well as the importance of accurate data management and analysis. I will also learn more about how to work in an effective team and solve problems as we work together towards a shared objective.The overall aim is to work closely with experienced clinical researchers and my home supervisor in all actions. The EDCTP goals are to support mid-career researchers in LMICs to develop and sustain their careers and retain their positions so that they can transfer knowledge to their peers as they promote quality clinical research in their organisations. I believe I meet these criteria as an experienced clinical trials pharmacist in Botswana. Performing the reintegration activities at the home organisation will help me make the training applicable to the local research context at the Botswana Harvard Partnership, and enable me to promote high quality research and development locally, building and sustaining research capacity in an LMIC setting as well as strengthening international collaborations. I am committed to using this opportunity to not just further my own career but also the careers of those I work with and the institution as a whole. The training will consist of a placement with a recognised partner ( I have selected the European Vaccine Institute and GSK) and will be composed of a combination of formal taught training and informal on-the-job experience.