•The training which also includes 10 distinguished faculty members seeks to equip them with immersive and groundbreaking learning experience.
•The early career scientists will have the opportunity to meet and learn from very top leaders in the fields of brain and mental health globally.
Image: COURTESY
Twenty-one early-career to mid-level African researchers are undergoing high-level training in brain and mental health research at the Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute.
This is after African College of Neuropsychopharmacology (AfCNP), hosted by Aga Khan University's Brain and Mind Institute launched its first-ever Pioneering School on Neuropsychopharmacology in Nairobi.
The training which also includes 10 distinguished faculty members seeks to equip them with immersive and groundbreaking learning experience.
The early career scientists will have the opportunity to meet and learn from very top leaders in the fields of brain and mental health globally.
The participants come from across the continent from Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa among other countries on the continent.
The move seeks to transform the landscape of neuropsychopharmacology research across Africa.
The intensive seven-day programme, running from June 2 to 8, focuses on the neuropsychopharmacology of stress and substance use disorders.
According to AfCNP president Prof Lukoye Atwoli, the school brings together psychologists, behavioral scientists, neuroscientists, and neurologists.
The main goal of the college is to expand research in brain and mental health, to examine interventions and treatments for mental disorders and neurological conditions and to advance advocacy and education in the area of brain and mental health.
“It is a highly competitive school we advertised this early this year, we got hundreds of applicants but we only selected 21 from across the continent because we want it to be meaningful to those that attend,” Atwoli said.
“We want to select people who are truly interested in brain and mental health and who have a career trajectory and are looking for opportunities to collaborate and to learn from top brains in this area,” he added.
According to Atwoli, despite Africa being a continent where people are exposed to a lot of risk factors for mental health, very little investment in treatments and research has been made in this area.
He mentioned wars, disasters both natural and manmade, chronic diseases, food insecurity and political instability as some of the risk factors for mental health burden in Africa.
The training seeks to determine the state of mental health in Africa and come up with tangible and sustainable solutions to deal with the crisis.
“We will go into laboratory work, how the drugs used in treatment of mental health work, which next generation medication should we be thinking about,” Atwoli said.
At the end, participants are hoping to create networks across the continent of early career researchers in the area of brain and mental health who will do cutting-edge research, and develop cutting-edge programmes for treatment and education in mental health and the brain.
Atwoli said the participants will be tracked over time to see if they have benefitted from the school.
According to online site nature.com, Neuropsychopharmacology is a science that examines the effects of drugs on the mind.
It combines neuroscience with the science of psychopharmacology, which studies how different drugs impact people's behavior.