Project Overview

The Sickle Pan Africa Research Consortium TRAINing Program (SPARC-TRAIN) builds on the successes of the Sickle Pan African Research Consortium infrastructural grant NHLBI (U01HL56942) in registry development, database management, and use of standard of care guidelines to further identify, select, and recruit a diverse group of talented, dedicated, and highly motivated scholars in Nigeria and Ghana who aspire to become leaders in hemoglobinopathies and implementation science research utilizing a team science approach to train scholars in:

Implementation Clinical and Genomic research.

Specifically, we are leveraging the combined resources at the University of Abuja (UoA) and New York University (NYU) to provide advanced training along five main tracks.

The Five Training Tracks:

• Sickle cell disease (SCD) by addressing the genetic, genomic, epigenetic, and environmental determinants across the life span.
• Data science by supporting the inclusion of data management principles and data science on hemoglobinopathies to promote evidence-based care
• Implementation Science by bringing to scale newborn screening for SCD and inherited blood disorders using a patient-centered interdisciplinary approach
• Advanced training in Transfusion Medicine, Haematology, and other areas of importance for hemoglobinopathies by supporting the implementation of advanced life-saving interventions for patients
• scaling up programs on genetic counselling on hemoglobinopathies and NCD of high prevalence in both countries.