Planning Grant for Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D71)

Bethesda, Md., Mon., Sept. 30, 2013 – The National Institutes of Health has awarded 10 new grants totaling up to $17 million over the next four years to support genomics research in Africa, as part of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) program. This set of grants is the second disbursement of H3Africa awards and brings the total amount of funding since the 2010 launch of the program to about $74 million. In addition to genomics research, the new awards will support training of African genomic scientists and building scientific infrastructure on the continent. H3Africa is funded by a partnership between NIH and the United Kingdom’s Wellcome Trust.

“These H3Africa awards demonstrate our continued commitment to furthering the capacity for genomics research on the African continent,” said Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). “Studying human diseases within populations with the greatest genetic variability and encouraging the contributions of our African colleagues should yield new insights about the role of genetics in health and disease.”