Volume 18| July 2, 2019
How do you measure impact? CARTA Graduate contributes to guidelines on how to do it
Anne Khisa ( pictured, right ) CARTA Cohort Three Fellow in partnership with the Centre for Capacity Research at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, has developed new guidelines on improving research capacity strengthening (RCS) evaluation practice. 

The project sought to address the gap of very little evidence to help funders and program implementers to design ways of measuring RCS impact, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

CARTA fellow appointed member of University council
Cohort Seven fellow Stevens Kisaka from Makerere University has been appointed by Janet Museveni , Uganda’s First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, to the University Governing Council of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).

The University Council is the supreme organ of the University responsible for the overall administration, policy and oversight. He takes up the role from July 1, 2019, shall hold office for four (4) years and shall be eligible for re-election.

Kisaka, who will serve in the MUST 7th council at the public institution that is second largest in Uganda, shared his gratitude to CARTA for the mentorship in his doctoral studies to date. His doctoral research focuses on the care and treatment of dog bites in high rabies burden districts of Wakiso and Kampala in Uganda.
Promotion: Enock Chisati now senior lecturer
Cohort Seven Fellow Enock Chisati from the University of Malawi has been promoted to senior lecturer, a role he took up from April, 2019 .

He lectures Exercise Physiology and Sports Sciences at the College of Medicine, Physiotherapy Department.
CARTA fellows participate in PhD curriculum review at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria 
CARTA in collaboration with the Postgraduate College, University of Ibadan organized a writing workshop to review doctoral program curriculum at the university. 

The two-day residential writing workshop which took place from June 20-21 , brought together
Obasola Ireti Oluwaseun, Adesola Oluwafunmilola Sangowawa, Thomas Emmanuel Olusegun (Cohort Three),  Joshua Odunayo Akinyemi (Cohort One), Ayodele Alonge (Cohort Four) and Kudus Adebayo (Cohort Six) and other members of the university to review the curriculum. The workshop was lead by CARTA focal persons Akin Omigbodun and Funke Fayehun with support from the graduate achool.
Our fellow awarded Young Investigator Fellowship in Dresden, Germany
Godwin Anywar, Cohort Six Fellow from Makerere University, was awarded a Young Investigator Fellowship for the 19th International Congress of the International Society of Ethnopharmacology held from June 12-14 at the Technische Universität in Dresden, Germany.

The award was in honour of his scientific contribution on  'Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Practices used by Herbalists in the Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in HIV/AIDS in Uganda'  and  'Investigation of Anti-malarial, Genotoxic and Antibacterial Properties of African Medicinal Plants traditionally used in Western and Central Uganda' .

Our fellows six weeks experience in Gothenburg, Sweden
Three Cohort Seven Fellows, Abiola Komolafe (second left, Obafemi Awolowo University), Blessings N. Kaunda-Khangamwa (fifth left, the University of the Witwatersrand), and Aurore Nishimwe ( second right, University of the Witwatersrand) attended six-week courses at the Department of Caring Sciences and Health, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden from March 4 - April 26.

The courses included one on implementation in health care-operating complex interventions that analysed challenges when new methods are implemented in the health care industry. The short courses are part of doctoral studies capacity building and networking programs available for CARTA fellows.
Felicitations! Save Kumwenda graduates at the University of Malawi
Our Cohort Three Fellow Save Kumwenda graduated on June 26 after he successfully defended his doctoral research on February 5 from the University of Malawi. The title of his research was Pathogen survival in ecological sanitation toilets and the associated health risks .

“ I am very grateful to CARTA for building my research and publication skills which are greatly helping me in my career development as an academic and a researcher. ”
Photo: John defends his doctoral research at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
CARTA Cohort Six Fellow John Olugbenga Abe successfully defended his PhD thesis on June 21 at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.

"I thank the CARTA management, staff, facilitators, and fellows for making the dream of PhD in Demography and Social Statistics a reality."
Thank you Stevens, Enock , Ayodele, Godwin, Blessings, Save and John for the photos and text.
The secretariat is preparing a special feature on CARTA graduates. Make sure you complete your profiles on the form shared recently by our Communications Officer. Complete the form before end of this week .
DELTAS Annual General Meeting in Dakar, Senegal from July 15-18 . It will be a meeting of sponsored trainees from the DELTAS Africa programs as well as other programs to network and share results of their research. Our eleven (11) fellows and graduates who will either make an oral or poster presentations at the meeting.

Afterwards six fellow will attend the one-day Global Forum for Women in Science and Research Conference (GoFoWISER) that will bring together women in science and research from across the globe to discuss science, mentorship and their professional development.
Reading:

While writing scientific/research quantitative outputs, one common decision in the presentation of categorical variables is choosing to present the “row percentage” in preference to the “column percentage” or vice versa. This short commentary may interest you.

The 8 Myths about public understanding of science.
Watching:

 Learning statistics doesn't need to be difficult. It's really all about answering just one question: Is what I am seeing in my sample data "real"? 

In this video, co-Editor-in-Chief of BMC Journal Globalization and Health Greg Martin gives an introduction to statistics.
Listening to:

This conversation with Blessing Mberu , a board member of the International Society for Urban Health on Urban Health and the place of Africa. In the podcast he notes, among other things, that the growth of urban informal settlements has created a number of population health challenges and the impact of this on urban health .

UNICEF is organizing an experts conference on brain health (mental health) in children and adolescents in November, 2019 . They are looking for well known and respected African researchers/scholars as well as organisations working on these issues that could contribute to the knowledge and debate. Email Dr Priscilla Idele , Director of the UNICEF Office of Research, here: [email protected].

The African Studies Association (ASA) invites fellows in networks and programs supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) to submit paper proposals to participate in the 2019 Annual Meeting of the association. The 2019 Annual Meeting, which will be held in Boston, MA, November 21-23 , will feature two panels that will highlight the research of Carnegie supported fellows. Download this PDF for more details.

The Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD) is seeking to fill the position of postdoctoral research fellow with experience and strong interest in the area of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in Africa .  Deadline: July 6, 2019.

The PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) is offering up to 45 PhD scholarships at one of ten RSIF African Host Universities in the following thematic areas: ICTs (including big data and artificial intelligence); Food security and agribusiness; Minerals, mining and materials engineering; Energy (including renewables), and Climate change. Deadline : July 22, 2019 at 5:00pm (GMT)

Follow the link to become the Next Einstein Ambassador

Breaking systemic barriers to women’s participation in science. This call is open to research institutions, consortia, or non-governmental organizations with proven research capacity . The institutions should have a strong presence in eligible low and middle-income countries. The research must be proposed and executed by an institution or group of institutions that are independent of the institution(s) to be studied. Deadline : August 15, 2019 by 17:00 (EDT)

The 100&Change is a MacArthur Foundation competition for a $100 million grant to fund a single proposal that will make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem. 100&Change will select a bold proposal that promises real progress toward solving a critical problem of our time. And it will award a $100 million grant to help make that solution a reality. Proposals focused on any critical issue are welcome .


Templeton World Charity Foundation is pleased to announce a new Request for Proposals for the Global Innovations for Character Development initiative . The initiative aims to support scientific research related to the development and measurement of character strengths in diverse contexts. The Foundation is offering up to 12 Proof of Concept ($234,000 USD) awards and one Transition to Scale ($1 million USD) award for innovative, high quality research and implementation projects. More details here .

For other opportunities check out the CARTA website .
Write for The Conversation Africa
Share the findings or new research in your area of expertise or your doctoral study. The Conversation Africa is a highly reputable and credible source of information to improve the quality and scope of public discourse. Interested? Write to our Communications Officer.
Share with us any news and updates such as upcoming events, conferences, meetings, story ideas, new collaborations, new trials/updates on progress, upcoming and published papers, policy briefs, community engagement activities, scholarships, what you are reading, if you won a grant, attending or about an upcoming conference, a call for applications/funding/papers. Share these before July 15, 2019 to be included in the next CARTA news & updates.