Posted on December 19, 2001 at 11:17 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are among 14 nationally to receive grants from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health for international projects to ease the burden of non-communicable diseases. The three- and five-year grants totaling $14.6 million will support collaborations between U.S. researchers and their counterparts in developing countries and emerging democracies.
Non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and lung disease, account for nearly 60 percent of deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization. “This new program will build a much-needed capacity in low- and middle-income countries to translate research advances into care and treatment in many non-communicable disease areas,” says Dr. Gerald T. Keusch, director of the Fogarty International Center.
Dr. Sten Vermund, professor and chair of epidemiology and international health with UAB’s School of Public Health, will collaborate with Dr. Vasyl Moroz of the Pirogov Medical University in Ukraine on a research project focusing on substance abuse treatment and prevention, and prevention and control of related health problems. The five-year project will provide a better understanding of the injection drug use epidemic in Ukraine in order to guide treatment and control strategies and to improve approaches to addressing other closely related epidemics of HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis.
Dr. Jerome Markovitz, associate professor of medicine with UAB’s department of preventive medicine, and Dr. Larry Moreland, professor of medicine with UAB’s division of clinical immunology/rheumatology, will collaborate with Dr. V. Mohan of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai, India, will develop a research program to investigate the high rate of coronary artery disease despite low rates of traditional risk factors other than diabetes. The three-year project is aimed at increasing the foundation’s ability to conduct epidemiological studies and clinical trials in this area.