CALL FOR APPLICATION FOR A PHD SCHOLARSHIP AT UNIVERSITY OF RWANDA UNDER “PHARMACOVIGILANCE FOR MEDICINES IN AFRICA” (PROFORMA) PROJECT

Background

The University of Rwanda (UR) is part of a Consortium that received from The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) (http://www.edctp.org) a grant (under the acronym of “PROFORMA”) aiming at strengthening national pharamcovigilance and post market surveillance systems for medicines in East Africa.

Pharmacovigilance capacity building is one of the, work packages of PROFORMA to ascertain sustainability of the national pharmacovigilance systems in both the academic institutions educating healthcare professionals and national medicine regulatory authorities in the participating countries.

About Pharmacovigilance

According to WHO, an adverse drug reaction (ADR) is defined as a drug response which is noxious and unintended and occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease, or for the modification of physiological function. Ranked as the fourth leading cause of death in many countries, ADRs have resulted in detrimental health problems such as congenital anomalies, hospitalizations, disabilities and death. As a matter of fact, handling ADRs in clinical practice is important, not only for patient safety in individual patient care but also for drug safety monitoring at a population level. The science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of ADRs or any other drug-related problem is called “Pharmacovigilance” (PV). PV is not a stand-alone subject; it involves a good knowledge of pharmacology and a better understanding of pharmacotherapy.

Why is PROFORMA training a candidate in the field of PV?

Two vital components that are needed to empower a national PV system have been worldwide agreed upon. The first one is the availability of PV competencies for health care professional trainers, because of the need to provide the trainees with core knowledge allowing them to contribute to safe use of medicines in the future. The second one is the existence of the mechanisms to stimulate discussion on national PV matters and promote collaboration between universities, national PV centres and other stakeholders to integrate key aspects of PV in their educational programmes .

From the above it is clear that in order to build knowledge of and raise awareness about PV among healthcare professionals, moreeducation in the PV topics is needed. In this context, PROFORMA aims at providing Rwanda with a competent and qualified scientist who can convey adequate PV knowledge to future health care professionals and serve as a catalyst for collaboration between the University and all stakeholders to build a strong PV educational agenda. The candidate will also get high-level skills allowing him/her to conduct researches that impact the country, region and world in the field of PV.

Call for application

In the perspective described above, PROFORMA project intends to enroll one candidate in a PhD program by research at UR. It is in this context that UR under PROFORMA project invites interested applicants to apply for a PhD position by research in Pharmacy at UR College of Medicine and Health Sciences. The PhD training will focus on the main theme of the PROFORMA grant as described above.

Funding

The PhD training will be funded by EDCTP through PROFORMA grant. Funding will mainly cover research expenses.

Requirements

The applicant for PHD Scholarship should be:

• A Rwandan Citizen
• A Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy and Master’s degree holder
• Working with UR or UR teaching hospitals
• Having obtained an admission at UR in the PhD program mentioned above
• Ready to adhere to UR capacity building policies and regulations
• Having interest in pharmacology & pharmacotherapy
• Passionate with PV and to work in the field of PV (teaching, research & innovation, inter-institution collaboration for PV matters)
• Ready and able to conduct his/her research activities in the context of this PhD in a collaborative way.

Interest in mass drug administration (MDA), and in immunization & vaccine topics would constitute an asset.

ALL SCHOLARSHIPS IN RWANDA 

Application file

Applicants FOR PHD Scholarship must submit the following documents (well numbered):

1. Application letter addressed to the Director of UR Centre for Postgraduate Studies; the letter should demonstrate commitment and reasons for interest in this PhD program. A special section should be devoted to demonstrating how the applicant meets the above
2. Proof of admission (admission letter) at UR in the PhD program mentioned above.
3. Curriculum Vitae.
4. Copy of the National Identity Card.
5. Copy of the degrees (Bachelor degree in Pharmacy and Master’s).
6. Copy of the academic transcripts (Bachelor degree in Pharmacy and Master’s levels).
7. Administrative recommendation letter from the direct supervisor.
8. Recommendation letters from at least two individuals of which one should be from
9. Brief research proposal on a topic focusing on immunization & vaccine MDA, that provides _r a brief background, research questions, objectives, methodology and expected results.

How to apply?

A complete soft copy of the application should be sent to admissions.pgs@ur.ac.rw with Cc. to the Project Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Emile BIENVENU (email: ebienvenue3@gmail.com ) and the PROFORMA Coordinator (email:mmugisha@nursph.org ).

Eligible applicants will be invited for an interview for the final selection of the Candidate.

The deadline for applications is 30^th January 2019 at 5:00 p.m.

For more information, applicants can contact the Project PI, Dr. Emile BIENVENU (email:ebienvenue3@gmail.com).

For more information,please visit https://ur.ac.rw/?q=content/call-application-phd-scholarship-ur-underpharmacovigilance-medicines-africaproforma-project