Building a center of excellence in biomedical research in an unfavorable environment: the Malaria Research and Training Center in Mali.

Abstract

By choosing a capacity-building strategy based on human resources, the late Professor Ogobara Doumbo and Professor Yeya Toure have succeeded in establishing a center devoted to malaria research in the economically unfavorable environment of Mali. By taking advantage of the advent of a pluralist democracy in Mali in 1991, the Malaria Research and Training Centre (MRTC) has become a model of excellence in training in biomedical research and a renowned clinical research center. Since 2003, MRTC researchers have conducted more than 20 phase-1 and -2 clinical trials of antimalarial vaccines, thus becoming a reference both in Africa and globally. The MRTC owes its success to several factors. While the focus on human capacity building has been critical for sustainability, the quality of the partnerships and the density of the partnership network have also played a critical role. The NIH partnership enabled us to construct new buildings to house modern laboratories. These facilities made it possible to conduct leading-edge research programs, the results of which in turn provided access to significant other funding sources, not only to finance new projects, but also to purchase modern heavy equipment. Lastly, it has been possible to set up a policy for training Malian researchers at the Masters and PhD levels, with the aim of fueling a critical mass of scientific expertise. The combination of each of these factors has created an environment conducive to sustainable research and whose recent results have heightened expectations for a rich future.