Year 1: Harvard Medical School
The first year will be spent at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. During this foundational year, the Post-Doctoral Fellows will work closely with a nominated Harvard faculty member(s) to draft an implementation science research proposal, acquire the research skills for its conduct, and prepare for its implementation in Year 2.
The Post-Doctoral Fellows will get to draft an Individual Development Plan (IDP) following guidance from the NIH and Harvard Medical School Office for Postdoctoral Fellows (see for example Tools & Resources | HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows (harvard.edu)). The IDPs will be developed and finalized by the Fellow during the first two months of the fellowship collaboratively with Harvard and AKU faculty mentors. The IDP will involve working with a research committee that will include other AKU or Harvard collaborating faculty members to provide additional methods or content expertise for the Fellow’s research project.
The Fellows will have access to the Harvard research and training environment, including courses, seminar series and conferences. The Fellows will present research proposals, attend symposia, and participate in other networks of thematic interest, for example the early child development or implementation science groups coordinated by the Department.
Year 2: Aga Khan University
During the second year, the Fellow will implement the project, which was developed in year 1, at the home AKU campus in East Africa or South/Central Asia, under the supervision of selected mentor(s) at AKU. The Fellows will retain visiting appointments in Harvard with full access to all academic and networking opportunities. The Harvard mentor(s) will continue to offer supervision and guidance, in collaboration with the AKU mentor(s) , with two key goals: the successful completion of the study leading to at least one peer-reviewed publication; and the planning for at least one grant application for a new research project.
Faculty Mentorship
The Fellows will have regular (at least monthly) research and progress assessment meetings with their Harvard faculty mentor for the full two years of the fellowship. Each Fellow will also have an AKU mentor, identified by the AKU program leadership, thus paving the way for a collaborative relationship between senior faculty in both Universities.
