India, US soon to begin NIH Intramural-to-India programme on HIV/AIDS

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India, US soon to begin NIH Intramural-to-India programme on HIV/AIDS

Friday, July 30, 2010 08:00 IST

Ramesh Shankar, Mumbai

In order to promote collaborations between the NIH intramural scientists of the

United States and the co-investigators in Indian research institutions, India

and the United States will soon begin the NIH Intramural-to-India (I-to-I)

programme under the US-India collaboration on prevention of sexually transmitted

diseases and HIV/AIDS.

The I-to-I programme was launched in fiscal year 2007 to support one year pilot

projects from NIH intramural scientists to enhance existing or initiate

collaborative research projects with investigators in Indian research

institutions. Recognizing NIH's broad intramural expertise in HIV/AIDS research,

the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) piloted the NIH Intramural-to-India

(I-to-I) programme to promote collaborations between NIH intramural scientists

and co-investigators in Indian research institutions.

For this purpose, the then Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare and US

Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) way back in June 2006 had signed a

Joint Statement for collaboration on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases

and HIV/AIDS to promote cooperative research and research training focused on

HIV/AIDS.

The Joint Statement calls for the development of strategic plans for

collaboration and to facilitate the expedited review and clearance of proposed

bilateral projects. Both the US and India have earmarked funds to support joint

research and training activities pursued under this programme. The US agency

identified to implement activities under this programme is the HHS National

Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Indian agencies are the Indian Council for

Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health

& Family Welfare and Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science &

Technology.

Specific areas of interest include Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS

Co-morbidities; Behavioural and Social Sciences; Epidemiology (Behavioural and

Population); Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Drug Use and Abuse; and Prevention of

Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT).

Indian investigators who are currently collaborating with an NIH Intramural

Scientist or one who would like to develop a new collaboration with an

investigator from NIH are eligible to participate in the programme.

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