• New AREF-Roche and Genentech Fellowship Program set to support emerging African scien<sts to become leaders in their fields.
• The selected fellows will complete a nine-month immersive fellowship placement in worldleading laboratories and receive extensive training and mentoring.
• The program will support African scien<sts in tackling prevailing health challenges across the con<nent.
United Kingdom, 17 October 2023 – Roche and the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) have launched a new fellowship program to support the next genera<on of African scien<sts. The AREFRoche and Genentech Fellowship Program will support three emerging African scien<sts to become leaders in the fields of clinical pharmacology, pathology and human gene<cs. The selected fellows will spend nine months at world-leading Genentech and Roche laboratories to develop and refine their research ideas, engage with a global network of mentors, and build their capacity to address prevailing health challenges across Africa.
With Research and Development (R&D) investment in Africa being largely underfunded at just 1.3% of the global R&D spend[1] and only 2.5% of clinical trials[2] being conducted in Africa, this fellowship program aims to equip emerging African scien<sts to become health research leaders. This is a cri<cal step in the right direc<on to accelerate Africa’s health research output and reduce the con<nent’s dispropor<onate disease burden.
“African scien<sts should be at the forefront of producing research that addresses Africa’s unique health needs. That’s why AREF is commiVed to nurturing and suppor<ng emerging health researchers with fellowship placements at globally reputable research centres, to acquire advanced research skills, develop mentorship rela<ons and collaborate with an interna<onal network of scien<sts. We are thrilled to offer this new fellowship and to equip the talented fellows to become independent researchers and influen<al leaders, capable of tackling Africa’s public health challenges,” said Professor Sir Tumani Corrah, Founder and President of AREF. Since 2015, AREF has invested in nurturing, mentoring, and suppor<ng a community of researchers across Africa to become research experts and leaders, capable of tackling African and global health challenges. The Fund has supported over 600 researchers from 41 countries across Africa, se_ng them on the path to lead their own research teams within the con<nent and secure addi<onal funding.
Roche has been conduc<ng clinical trials in Africa for over 25 years, and con<nues to collaborate with partners to catalyze and accelerate genomic science across the con<nent. “At Roche, we are commiVed to suppor<ng the development of a strong ecosystem for African science. This fellowship will contribute to the need for capacity building, as defined by African researchers and their ins<tu<ons, and help equip a new genera<on of African scien<sts leading genomics, clinical pharmacology and pathology science and innova<on on the con<nent,” said Maturin Tchoumi, Area Head, Africa, Roche.
The AREF- Roche and Genentech Fellowship Program applica<ons will launch this November and the fellowship program will kick off in July 2024, with a nine-month fellowship placement in some of the world’s leading laboratories. It will conclude with an opportunity for the talented fellows to win seed funding to further their research leadership and tackle cri<cal health challenges in Africa. ENDS
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