MORU and OUCRU Discovery Research Academy

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Southeast Asia are home to 650 million people. However, their capacity to conduct impactful research, which would benefit the region’s health, remains underdeveloped. The numbers of scientific researchers in these countries is rising, but many barriers limit their ability to conduct research. Capacity strengthening is needed to increase awareness and access to funding streams, provide high-quality training in grant writing, pitching and project and financial management, and to embed mentorship schemes to support career development. We propose creation of a Discovery Research Academy in Southeast Asia which will enroll a total of thirty early- and mid-career post-doctoral researchers from our networks across Asian LMICs. The Academy will support two eighteen-month cohorts. They will participate in bespoke workshops, have fully embedded mentorship from senior Wellcome Asia and Africa Programme scientists and grant writing experts to develop subsequent grant applications. They will have access to seed awards to generate preliminary data and collaborations that will support Wellcome applications. The Academy goals are to empower Asian LMIC researchers to apply for Wellcome Discovery (and other) research awards, support local partners to develop their own research capacity, and grow a strong and engaged research community in the region.