First National Workshop

The First National Workshop is being hosted by the Feed the Future Innovation lab for Nutrition and Tufts University, as part of its ongoing support of institutional and human research capacity building around agriculture, health and nutrition in Nepal. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Child Health Division, Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine, Patan Academy of Health Sciences and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Innovation Lab will conduct the one-week intensive workshop on the topic of “Design and Implementation of Intervention Studies”, in Nagarkot, Nepal from March 19-24, 2018.

• To learn about the basic concepts of research design, processes and components
• To gain substantive knowledge on the developmental and structural processes in preparing a research protocol.
• To identify a research question with measurable precise objective and determine the appropriate research design and data collection and analysis methods to answer the research question.

Participants will be exposed to the theory of designing and implementing an intervention study along with hands on experience in developing an intervention research grant proposal.  Topical areas will include the development of a research question that answers a gap in current scientific knowledge in Nepal, articulation of a hypothesis, defining outcomes of interest, determining appropriate study designs, intervention methodology and assessment methods to be selected to respond to the research question.  Participants will work in a group of five to develop and present a grant proposal at the end of course interacting with faculty mentors through the workshop period and respond to constructive criticism and queries.

Potential candidates may be currently involved in nutrition, clinical research, and program and policy implementation around agriculture and nutrition, including junior faculty, physicians and public health professionals involved in research. Candidates within agriculture, public health and nutrition faculties at academic institutions throughout Nepal are invited to participate. Candidates should demonstrate a strong commitment to achieving nutrition outcomes at public health scale.

Participants taking this week-long workshop should be prepared with foundation courses in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physiology, nutrition, public health, and biostatistics/statistics.

As part of the application process, participants will be asked to select and share three research questions of their interest. A total of 25 participants will be selected to participate in the workshop. The faculty leads of the workshop will review applications and select participants that are best suited to benefit from the course.  As part of the review process, faculty will group selected participants into groups of five based on an analysis of the research questions submitted and a common research interest.  Each working group (of five participants) will develop one research protocol and grant proposal that will be presented on the last day of the workshop.

There is no workshop fee for the participants. The workshop will be held at the Mystic Mountain Hotel in Nagarkot, approximately 33 kilometers outside the city of Kathmandu. The Nutrition Innovation Lab will sponsor food and lodging arrangements.

Those selected will be provided with a workshop package that will include background reading materials, handouts, and workshop schedule and reference e-books.

You will need a passport sized photo, your current CV, and two reference letters for your application.  Please have these items ready before completing the online application.  One reference letter must be from your current supervisor/ department head.  Supervisor/ HOD should confirm attendance for the full 1 week of the course is permitted and indicate how the course will benefit the student.  The application deadline is February 5, 2018.