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Foundational steps
Focusing on breaking linguistic barriers, the non-profit organization Pharmacometrics Africa, with support from Pharmetheus and French-speaking faculty professors, launched a French version of their online course in Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics. The program is tailored for French-speaking scientists within and from Africa and spans 3 months.
– Learning material in French opens doors for developing the scientific competencies within french-speaking Africa, Dr. Anna Chan Kwong says.
She works as pharmacometrician at Pharmetheus, and emphasizes the program’s significance and its important role in supporting the professional and personal growth of participants. Anna has been involved in the initiative since its beginning, starting with the translation of English learning material into an openly accessible French self-paced course, hosted on the Moodle e-learning platform by Pharmacometrics Africa. The progressions were demonstrated in a poster presented at WCoP 2022, and won the Impact award.
– Access to education in French holds significant importance in many African nations, emphasizes Anna who was the first co-author, and presenter, of the poster.
A remarkable interest
This first iteration of the online training course in Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics is led by Dr. Sonia Khier from the University of Montpellier, spans over three months and consists of a comprehensive learning program.
– The online training has garnered remarkable interest, surpassing initial enrolment projections. The overwhelming interest clearly signals the need for specialized educational opportunities within the Francophone scientific community, Sonia says.
Online, bilingual and guided
The format can be described as bilingual, where French-speaking presenters guide participants to process the material, which is subtitled in French. Pharmetheus’ French-speaking consultants Dr. Anna Chan Kwong, Dr. Anais Glatard, Dr. Fanny Gallais, and Dr. Celine Sarr – contributors in the translation of course material – are featured as guest speakers through the program, as well as Dr. Kamunkhwala Gausi.
Fostering empowerment
Dr. Colin Pillai of CP+ Associates, heading the project for Pharmacometrics Africa, praises the program’s energy and acknowledges the significant contributions of faculty members motivated by a passion for advancing African science.
– This is not just about education; it’s about empowerment and inclusion. and I am very grateful for the support of the international team of volunteer faculty, says Colin.
This online tutored training, like the now well established English versions of the course, aims to increase the application of model-based methods in drug development and clinical practice in Africa.
The English version has been run by partner Universities in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. These courses are part of a set of training activities to develop and strengthen health-related scientific capacity and capability in low and middle income countries (LMICs).
Although the tutored sessions began on April 8th and registration is now closed, the translated online course will remain available and the training fellowship is planned to run again in the future.
For further information or to volunteer, interested individuals can visit https://pmxafrica.org/contact/
The driving force
About PMX Africa
Pharmacometrics Africa is a non-profit company registered in South Africa with the goal to develop quantitative clinical pharmacology among African scientists, and more generally among pharmacometricians in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Pharmacometrics Africa establishes and runs open access quantitative clinical pharmacology educational programs in partnership with local research organizations and academic groups.
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Time to register for the Educational Pharmacometrics Summer Symposium
Don’t miss the chance to attend the third annual Educational Pharmacometrics Summer Symposium (EPSS) on June 25, 2024, in connection to PAGE 2024 at the Ergife Hotel in Rome, Italy. Supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, University of Pavia and Pharmetheus, this event is a must for those starting out in the pharmacometrics field.