Welcome to the January newsletter! Happy New Year to everyone. We look forward to connecting you to resources and to each other in the coming new year.
Please contact info@ammnet.org if you would like to contribute any items to next month’s newsletter!
Contents:
- Special announcements
- Jobs and grant opportunities
- Workshops and conferences
- Courses and learning opportunities
- Subgroups, working groups, and regional activities
- Seminar recap and recordings
1. Special announcements
AMMnet Monthly Seminar: Add the 2024 series to your calendar!
Select the link here to add the AMMnet Monthly Seminar Series to your calendar. (New to 2024, these will no longer be added to your calendar automatically.)
Look for an announcement to come soon regarding our next speaker, scheduled for February 6, 16:00 UTC.
Select the link here to join the Zoom meeting at the scheduled time.
Do you have a suggested speaker for AMMnet seminars?
We invite you to provide your input in a survey found at the link here. (See the link here for the French survey.)
- We’re looking for speakers who may be interested in giving a 10-minute or 30-minute presentation. Invited speakers do not have to be members of AMMnet.
- We’re also looking for AMMnet members who would like to give a lightning introduction of themselves
If you are interested in adding your name to the list of potential presenters or know someone who may be a great speaker, submit their name in the survey above.
Call for Abstracts and Trainers for the AMMnet Africa Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda April 18-19, 2024
It is our pleasure to announce the upcoming AMMnet Annual Meeting, which will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, on the 18th and 19th of April 2024, ahead of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Conference (MIM).
We are excited to bring together professionals and experts from the malaria analytics field to share insights, exchange ideas, and foster collaboration. This time we are also excited to host a series of training sessions to all attendees.
As a valued member of the AMMnet community, we invite you to submit an abstract for a short talk or a poster, or to organize a training session. All presentations (oral and poster) will be made in person. Deadline extended: Applications must be received by January 31, 2024, to be considered. Applicants will be notified of acceptances by the end of February, and must confirm participation within a week of notification.
AMMnet encourages francophone members to submit applications for oral presentations, posters and training sessions to be given in French. We aim to select at least one training session to be given in French. Oral presentations can be given in French, as we will have live translation at the event.
- Speaker or Poster Presentation: If you would like to present your work as an oral presentation or poster, kindly fill out this application to submit your abstract and apply for a travel award, if needed. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work and contribute to the discussions. Talks will be around 10 minutes.
- Training Session: If you would like to share your expertise through a training session, please fill out this application to submit the title and content of your session and to apply for a travel award, if needed. We are grateful for your contribution to the learning experience. Training sessions will be 3 hours.
- Looking for Training Topics in
- Technical topics for advanced modellers (such as calibration, validation, parameter inference, etc.)
- Teaching non-modellers on the basics of modelling or interpreting modelling outputs and results
- Teaching modellers on translation and application of modelling results for decision making (for example, communicating technical results to NMCP audiences and applying them to strategy)
- Maps, mapping etc.
- Visualisation of results and building presentations for different audiences
- Use of data for modeling and analytics
- Looking for Training Topics in
The Gates Foundation is pleased to partner with AMMnet to sponsor the 2024 conference. There is no registration fee to attend the meeting, and Foundation support enables AMMnet to offer select meals to attendees free of charge during the event. The Gates Foundation will not be covering any participant travel expenses; however, a select number of travel awards are being offered by AMMnet for presenters and session leads. These travel awards will cover hotel accommodations for three days and flights up to $1,500. If you wish to apply for travel funding, please submit your application through the abstract or training form above by January 31, 2024. Travel awards will be prioritized for those with an accepted abstract and those organizing training sessions, and unfortunately, we do not expect to have funds available to support additional people. While we invite you to participate in person, a limited number of sessions will be also available in live streaming.
Please mark your calendars for this event and stay tuned for further updates and formal registration that will open in February 2024. We look forward to your active involvement and contributions to make the 2024 AMMnet Annual Meeting a success.
Join the AMMnet Slack Workspace
If you haven’t joined the AMMnet slack workspace, join here! Many announcements, including job opportunities and upcoming events, are posted first on the Slack. This is also a great place to connect directly with other modelers!
2. Jobs and grant opportunities
University Administration Support Program (UASP) Fellowship in Research Management
UASP Fellowship in Research Management supports the development of university research management and knowledge transfer capacity through a competitive, three stage program. The program consists of a 70-hour, three-month online Research Management & Learning course; a three-week virtual fellowship placement with a U.S. university; and a five-week in-person fellowship at a U.S. university along with an additional week of intensive research management training for the most engaged participants.
Participation in each stage of UASP is competitive and based on engagement and performance metrics. The program is targeted at mid- to senior-level university leaders who are able to affect change in their institutions. The fellowship’s activities are designed to support participants in building their universities into leading research institutions that impact their communities and beyond.
To apply and find out more information, navigate to the website here.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Abdisalan Noor leads a program of work to strengthen capacity and the enabling strategic, policy and leadership environment for public health analytics in health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with a focus on Africa. The program of work aims to develop a networked architecture for sustainable capacity development in public health analytics. The project will engage national public health institutes, national malaria programmes, the World Health Organization, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners.
The successful applicant will lead work in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa on:
- Landscape analysis of investments in public health analytics for health policy and planning.
- Analysis of the process linkages in the development of the national health sector planning and disease specific strategic planning.
- Documenting the analysis approaches, products and partnerships that inform national health sector and disease specific planning processes.
- Implementing a public health analytics needs assessment in select disease/public health programmes
- Support the development of a strategy for a new architecture to strengthen public health analytics in Africa.
Navigate to the job posting here for more details, candidate qualifications, and application procedure.
AMMnet Grant Opportunity for Local Events
For the last year, AMMnet has offered a small grant – $500-$3,000 – for AMMnet members in malaria-endemic countries to hold in-person events. In 2023, we funded 18 events in 12 countries! A full awardee list is available here. Congratulations to our 2023 awardees!
The award will continue to be available in 2024. The AMMnet Board has updated the documents required for submission, and the new request for proposals is available on our website (English, French, Portuguese). The new requirements are in effect for proposals received on or after 1 January 2024.
We especially encourage our francophone and lusophone members to apply, and we accept applications in English, French, or Portuguese.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to info@ammnet.org with any questions. We look forward to receiving your application!
3. Workshops, webinars and conferences
8th MIM Society Conference: 21-27 April 2023 Kigali, Rwanda
Multilateral Initiative on Malaria- MIM Society 8th Pan African Malaria Conference (PAMC)
“Grassroots Mobilization to End Malaria: Invest, Innovate & Integrate”
- 21-27 April 2024
- Kigali Convention Centre
- Kigali, Rwanda
This is an open call for abstracts. Participants may submit an abstract for review via www.mimAfrica.com. Authors may submit for oral, poster or symposia sessions.
- Submission deadline: Submission deadline: January 31, 2024 (23h59 CAT)
Applicants will be notified of acceptances by February 21, 2024, and must confirm participation within a week of notification.
You may find more information at the website here.
Explore the crucial role of genomic data in tackling antimicrobial resistance | 2024 Scientific Conference
Registration for the 2024 conference focusing on Antimicrobial Resistance – Genomes, Big Data and Emerging Technologies (13-15 March 2024) opens soon!
Bringing together researchers, clinicians, computer scientists, and policymakers working in pathogen genomics, epidemiology, surveillance, and machine learning, to discuss the recent advances and current challenges shaping the field.
Discussion will cover a variety of topics, including:
- Genomic surveillance of priority pathogens
- Global public health pathogen genomics infrastructure
- Translation and implication of genomics for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) control
- Wastewater surveillance
- AI, machine learning, and big data tools
- Measuring the burden of AMR
Emphasis will be placed on demonstrating how findings from genomics studies can be implemented into clinical practice and policy, to control AMR.
This conference is an excellent platform to connect with experts, access exclusive talks, and present your own research on a global platform.
Registration deadline: 13 February (in person) | 5 March 2024 (virtual)
Navigate to the website here for more information and key dates.
4. Courses and Learning Opportunities
No courses and learning sources to share this month. Please send any opportunities to AMMnet.org that you’d like to share.
5. Subgroups, working groups, and regional activities
AMMnet Francophone
AMMnet has a group dedicated to building a French speaking modeling community. Led by Dr. Dr. Abdourahamane Diallo and Carmène Ngadjeu, they meet monthly, facilitate discussions around malaria modeling learning, collaboration, and resources for francophone countries. If you’d like to participate in the francophone group and receive an invitation to meetings and webinars, please contact info@AMMnet.org.
Francophone Webinar Series
For this January 2024 please join AMMnet Francophone in its Francophone Webinar Series entitled Modélisation Mathématique du Paludisme: Introduction au logiciel Epidemiological Modeling (EMOD) Software presented by Dr MOR ABSA LOUM from Université Iba Der Thiam Thiès, Senegal.
Date: January 30, 2024, 12 hr UTC
Select the link here to join the Zoom meeting at the scheduled time. (Note: the seminar will be conducted exclusively in French.)
6. Seminar recap and recordings
You may find these two recordings and others on the AMMnet YouTube channel located on the website here. Watch past seminars, workshops, and special events. (Subject to speaker permission.)
AMMnet Monthly Seminar Series
2024 Jan 09 AMMnet Event Grants: Perspectives from Awardees and Application Process Updates for 2024
For our first seminar of 2024, we highlighted our funding opportunity for AMMnet members to organize and hold in-person events. The AMMnet Board shared updates to the application process for applications received on or after 1 January 2024, and we heard from 3 awardees about the events they have organized:
- Progress Agboola, Nigeria, “Malaria Modeling Workshop in Nigeria”
- Abel Wilson Walekwa, Uganda, “Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Modelling Unit (IDEMU-Mak)”
- Ivan Misonge and Antonio Nkondjio Christophe, Cameroon, “National Conference on Malaria Modeling in Cameroon” and “Short training of malaria medical entomologists in modeling”
This seminar is available in English, French and Portuguese.
