Trained scientists are scarce in low-income countries, and we build local capacity by facilitating communication, mentoring, and investment in future collaborators.
In Rwanda, we have over nine years of building human capacity in education and research through affiliation with RD Rwanda, Rwanda Cancer Center, Dartmouth, on-line and on-site teaching, and internet-enabled case conferences. Medical graduates from Kosovo, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Honduras have come to DCC for specialty training experiences. The Global Oncology and Disparities of Care international forum enables monthly DCC and University of Connecticut faculty-led live international medical education sessions and research collaboration virtually.
Now that we have trained the newest generation of doctors and sub-specialists in Rwanda, we need to take our programs to the next level with long-term training grants to build research infrastructure and capacity to lead clinical trials of people living and being treated in Africa, to ensure a successful plan to improve outcomes for people with cancer in low resource settings. With our academic collaborative history and excellent clinical infrastructure already in place, we need to ensure research infrastructure and training programs to advance patient care and make these opportunities available to medical scholars throughout the world.