Researchers Meet in Hanoi To Engage in Research Exchange

January 31, 2011

In November 2010, 65 researchers joined NIDA and Fogarty International Center (FIC) fellowship and trainee alumni in Hanoi, Vietnam, to initiate an Asian Regional Research Collaboration Network.

The Hanoi meeting is one of the many regional meetings that are taking place among drug abuse and HIV/AIDS researchers across the globe to bridge the regional gap that often hinders the exchange of research ideas and the development of constructive collaborations. Researchers from eight countries in the region (Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam) met with National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers and representatives of government and international agencies to discuss regional research priorities in drug-related HIV/AIDS. The meeting was hosted by NIDA, FIC, and Hanoi Medical University, with support from the NIH Office of AIDS Research.

Meeting objectives included (1) enhancing research development in the region by networking researchers sharing common interests in prevention, treatment, and care; (2) linking current research and program implementation and evaluation from the region with programmatic activities in individual countries, such as those supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and others; and (3) providing information on current and former activities in the region for research, research training, and program implementation and evaluation. Participants were especially pleased by the opportunity to meet one another, many for the first time, and to establish a follow-up communications network using the NIDA International Virtual Collaboratory (NIVC). The NIVC group will be coordinated by a group of Asian researchers in cooperation with NIDA and FIC. For more information about the group, contact Dr. M. Patricia Needle, mpneedle@gmail.com.