PI: Akuffo, Oye Nana Title: Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA- II) in 

Africa

Received: 07/30/2019 FOA: PAR18-335 Council: 01/2020

Clinical Trial:Not Allowed

Competition ID: FORMS-E FOA Title: Global Infectious Disease Research Administration Development Award 

for Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (G11-Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

1 G11 AI152201-01 Dual: Accession Number: 4333864

IPF: 45401 Organization: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Former Number: Department:

IRG/SRG: ZAI1 AMC-D (J1) AIDS: N Expedited: N 

Subtotal Direct Costs Animals: N New Investigator:

(excludes consortium F&A) Humans: N Early Stage Investigator:

Year 1: Clinical Trial: N 

Current HS Code: 10

HESC: N 

Senior/Key Personnel: Organization: Role Category:

Nana Akuffo NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / PD/PI

MEDICAL RES

Griselda Annan Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Other (Specify)-Project Coordinator

Research

KWADWO KORAM Ph.D Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Co-Investigator

Research

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Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

Page 1

OMB Number: 4040-0001

Expiration Date: 10/31/2019

APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE 3. DATE RECEIVED BY STATE State Application Identifier

SF 424 (R&R)

1. TYPE OF SUBMISSION* 4.a. Federal Identifier

❍Pre-application ●Application ❍Changed/Corrected b. Agency Routing Number

Application

2. DATE SUBMITTED Application Identifier c. Previous Grants.gov Tracking Number

5. APPLICANT INFORMATION Organizational DUNS*:

Legal Name*: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Department:

Division:

Street1*: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

ZIP / Postal Code*:

Person to be contacted on matters involving this application

Prefix: First Name*: Nana Middle Name: Oye Last Name*: Akuffo Suffix: 

Position/Title:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

ZIP / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number: Email:

6. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) or (TIN)* 

7. TYPE OF APPLICANT* W: Non-domestic (non-US) Entity

Other (Specify):

Small Business Organization Type ❍Women Owned ❍Socially and Economically Disadvantaged

8. TYPE OF APPLICATION* If Revision, mark appropriate box(es).

● New ❍Resubmission ❍A. Increase Award ❍B. Decrease Award ❍C. Increase Duration

❍Renewal ❍Continuation ❍Revision ❍D. Decrease Duration ❍E. Other (specify) :

Is this application being submitted to other agencies?* ❍Yes ●No What other Agencies?

9. NAME OF FEDERAL AGENCY* 10. CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE NUMBER

National Institutes of Health TITLE:

11. DESCRIPTIVE TITLE OF APPLICANT'S PROJECT*

Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA- II) in Africa

12. PROPOSED PROJECT 13. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS OF APPLICANT

Start Date* Ending Date* 00-000

06/01/2020 12/31/2021
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

Page 2

SF 424 (R&R) APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE Page 2 

14. PROJECT DIRECTOR/PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Prefix: First Name*: Nana Middle Name: Oye Last Name*: Akuffo Suffix: 

Position/Title: Research Development Officer

Organization Name*: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Department:

Division:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

ZIP / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number: Email*:

15. ESTIMATED PROJECT FUNDING 16.IS APPLICATION SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY STATE 

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12372 PROCESS?*

a. YES ❍ THIS PREAPPLICATION/APPLICATION WAS MADE 

a. Total Federal Funds Requested* $ AVAILABLE TO THE STATE EXECUTIVE ORDER 12372

b. Total Non-Federal Funds* $0.00 PROCESS FOR REVIEW ON:

c. Total Federal & Non-Federal Funds* $ DATE:

d. Estimated Program Income* $0.00 b. NO ❍ PROGRAM IS NOT COVERED BY E.O. 12372; OR

● PROGRAM HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED BY STATE FOR 

REVIEW

17. By signing this application, I certify (1) to the statements contained in the list of certifications* and (2) that the statements herein 

are true, complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I also provide the required assurances * and agree to comply with 

any resulting terms if I accept an award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to 

criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001)

●I agree*

* The list of certifications and assurances, or an Internet site where you may obtain this list, is contained in the announcement or agency specific instructions.

18. SFLLL or OTHER EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTATION File Name:

19. AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Prefix: Prof. First Name*: Abraham Middle Name: Kwabena Last Name*: Anang Suffix: 

Position/Title*: Director

Organization Name*: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

Department:

Division:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

ZIP / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number: Email*:

Signature of Authorized Representative* Date Signed*

Nana Akuffo 07/30/2019

20. PRE-APPLICATION File Name:

21. COVER LETTER ATTACHMENT File Name:COVERLETTER_CABERA-II_NANA_2019.pdf
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

424 R&R and PHS-398 Specific 

Table Of Contents

SF 424 R&R Cover Page............................................................................................................. 1 

Table of Contents. ................................................................................................................... 3 

Performance Sites....................................................................................................................... 4 

Research & Related Other Project Information........................................................................ 5 

Project Summary/Abstract(Description)................................................................................ 6 

Project Narrative...................................................................................................................... 7 

Facilities & Other Resources.................................................................................................. 8 

Research & Related Senior/Key Person. ................................................................................10

Research & Related Budget Year - 1.......................................................................................21

Budget Justification..................................................................................................................24

Research & Related Cumulative Budget. ...............................................................................26

PHS398 Cover Page Supplement. ...........................................................................................27

PHS 398 Research Plan............................................................................................................29

Specific Aims. ........................................................................................................................30

Research Strategy. ................................................................................................................31

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information. ......................................................42

Bibliography & References Cited. .......................................................................................43

Letters of Support..................................................................................................................44

Table of Contents Page 3 
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye OMB Number: 4040-0010

Project/Performance Site Location(s)

Project/Performance Site Primary Location ❍I am submitting an application as an individual, and not on behalf of

a company, state, local or tribal government, academia, or other type of 

organization.

Organization Name: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

Duns Number:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

Zip / Postal Code*:

Project/Performance Site Congressional District*: 00-000

Project/Performance Site Location 1 ❍I am submitting an application as an individual, and not on behalf of

a company, state, local or tribal government, academia, or other type of 

organization.

Organization Name: Yale University

DUNS Number:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*: CT: Connecticut

Province:

Country*: USA: UNITED STATES

Zip / Postal Code*:

Project/Performance Site Congressional District*: CA-012

Additional Location(s) File Name:

Expiration Date: 10/31/2019

Page 4 

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877 Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335. Received Date: 

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

RESEARCH & RELATED Other Project Information

OMB Number: 4040-0001

Expiration Date: 10/31/2019

1. Are Human Subjects Involved?* ❍ Yes ● No

1.a. If YES to Human Subjects

Is the Project Exempt from Federal regulations? ❍ Yes ❍ No

If YES, check appropriate exemption number: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

If NO, is the IRB review Pending? ❍ Yes ❍ No

IRB Approval Date:

Human Subject Assurance Number

2. Are Vertebrate Animals Used?* ❍ Yes ● No

2.a. If YES to Vertebrate Animals

Is the IACUC review Pending? ❍ Yes ❍ No 

IACUC Approval Date:

Animal Welfare Assurance Number

3. Is proprietary/privileged information included in the application?* ❍ Yes ● No

4.a. Does this project have an actual or potential impact - positive or negative - on the environment?* ❍ Yes ● No

4.b. If yes, please explain:

4.c. If this project has an actual or potential impact on the environment, has an exemption been authorized or an ❍ Yes ❍ No 

environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) been performed?

4.d. If yes, please explain:

5. Is the research performance site designated, or eligible to be designated, as a historic place?* ❍ Yes ● No

5.a. If yes, please explain:

6. Does this project involve activities outside the United States or partnership with international ● Yes ❍ No 

collaborators?*

6.a. If yes, identify countries: Ghana

6.b. Optional Explanation:

Filename

7. Project Summary/Abstract* Projectsummary_CaBERa-II_NOA_2019.pdf

8. Project Narrative* ProjectNarrative_CaBERA-II_NOA_2019.pdf

9. Bibliography & References Cited REFERENCE_CaBERA-II_NOA_2019.pdf

10.Facilities & Other Resources FACILITIES_CABERA-II_NANA_2019.pdf

11.Equipment

Page 5 

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877 Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335. Received Date: 

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

PROJECT SUMMARY

Research underpins the successful implementation of health intervention programs, which is 

lacking in low-to-middle income countries (LMIC) where most of preventable diseases occur. The 

LMICs account for 90% of global burden of preventable diseases and yet they are recipients of 

only 10% of the resources available for research. The obstacles are many and although this 

situation has improved in recent times through external collaborations with scientists and 

institutions they do not significantly address the problem. This situation is further compounded by 

the volume of work required to satisfy the requirements; compliance of pre-and post-award, of the 

major funding agencies including the NIH, Wellcome Trust, EU etc. The frequent changes in 

policies and regulations make it more difficult for LMICs to follow without the institutional 

structures/mechanisms in place. We hypothesize that a major contributing factor to the dearth of 

health research in LMICs is the inability to secure competitive research grants by LMICs’ scientists 

and research institutions because of the virtual non-existence of offices to support grant 

applications. We propose the establishment of offices of research management in three selected 

African tertiary institutions. Over the course of eighteen months, this initiative will set up registered 

research management offices in at least 3 African institutions and provide training to staff to gain 

competencies in managing sponsored research grants that meet the requirement of funding 

agencies. It will build on the successes of CaBERA award that established three offices of 

research management in Ghanaian tertiary institutions. It will also build on the long standing 

record of the Ghana-Yale Partnership for Global Health for capacity building for health research.

Project Summary/Abstract

Page 6 
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

PROJECT NARRATIVE

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Ghana collaboration with Yale 

University’s Office of Sponsored Research successfully applied to NIH in 2016 for a G11 capacity 

building grant titled Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) at 

Noguchi Memorial Institute with the aim to strengthen the ORS at NMIMR and in addition help 

establish such offices in two other tertiary institutions in Ghana. At the end of the project period, 

a systematic evaluation of the project, especially in establishing research offices in two other 

Institutes, revealed the need for such offices across Africa. The overall objective of this project is 

therefore, building upon the successes of the first project, seek support for the establishment of 

research management offices in three selected Institutes in Africa.

Project Narrative

Page 7 
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 8

Facilities & Other Resources

Facilities and Other Resources

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (http://www.noguchimedres.org/) 

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), established in 1979 as a semiautonomous institute of the University of Ghana, is the country’s leading biomedical research facility. The 

Institute is located on the University of Ghana campus at Legon, approximately 5km from Accra International 

Airport and 25km from the port city of Tema. The Institute is committed to research on national health priorities 

and training of biomedical scientists. Its vision is to be a world class Institute capable of conducting high 

quality cutting edge research and training in the biomedical sciences. The broad objectives and mandate of 

the Institute are:

• To conduct research into health problems of Public Health importance in Ghana.

• To provide training opportunities for postgraduate students in medical research.

• To provide specialized laboratory diagnostic and monitoring services in support of public health 

programs.

In order to generate quality data to guide evidence based policies, the Institute is committed to conducting 

high quality research, ensuring integrity of research data, and upholding the highest ethical standards.

A Director heads the Institute and is assisted by an Institute administrator and various supporting staff; . 

Accounts, Biosafety, Maintenance, etc. Of relevance to the management of research grants is the Office of 

Research Support which is headed by a coordinator who reports to the Director. The current staff strength 

289 which includes104 scientists, 65 technical staff and 120 support staff.

The Institute has nine scientific Departments, each headed by a Senior Scientist: Animal Experimentation; 

Bacteriology; Clinical Pathology; Electron Microscopy and Histopathology; Epidemiology; Immunology; 

Nutrition; Parasitology; and Virology

The Institute’s research portfolio is wide and varied, and it includes malaria, soil-transmitted helminthiasis 

and schistosomiasis, filariasis (lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis), diarrheal diseases, Buruli ulcer, 

tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, poliomyelitis, sexually transmitted infections, micronutrients, infant and maternal 

mortality, viral hemorrhagic fevers, EPI Diseases, hemoglobinopathies (sickle cell disease etc.), Plant 

medicine and drug discovery, allergies, environmental pollution, etc.

In addition to research, the Institute provides extensive training opportunities in biomedical research to 

undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdocs. The Institute is also active in collaborative research 

and training with a variety of international partners, including Yale University under the Ghana-Yale 

Partnership for Global Health, University of Michigan, University of Denmark among others.

The Institute' has a database and archival systems and provides support to most research conducted in 

the Institute with its biostatistics and epidemiology capabilities. It also has a local area network and provides 

24/7 internet connectivity and network services, and dedicated servers for data storage and archiving. The 

Institute also has a fully functional Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) that manages all research projects. 

Power supply is from the national grid which is backed up by a 500KV generator that switches on 

automatically in the event of power outage, and also a back-up 10,000-gallon capacity water storage tank. A 

solar-farm with the capacity to supply 40% of the Institute's daily power needs also exists.

Administrative resources

Each of the key personnel at the Noguchi Institute has a private office and access to administrative 

support. Grants Management and compliance will be coordinated by the Office of Research Support at the 

Noguchi Institute. The ORS has a staff of nine (9) and this includes the Research Development Officer who 

is also the Coordinator of the Office, three administrative assistants, two finance officers, an Assistant 

Database officer and a public relations officer.
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 9

Facilities & Other Resources

Research Ethics

An independent institutional review board with a federal wide assurance accreditation (FWA #: 00001824) to 

ensure that quality research is conducted. It reviews all research proposals and regularly monitors and 

evaluate both field and laboratory activities.

Yale University Resources

The Yale University School of Medicine, one of the nation’s premier educational and research

institutions, was established in 1810. Today it has 1472 full-time faculty, 1972 part-time faculty, and 421 

MD, 79 MD/PhD, 339 PhD and 99 MPH students. During the past decade, research funding for Yale

School of Medicine has almost doubled to over $400 million per year. The Medical School is the recipient of 

53 T32 and 31 K23/24 awards, and more than 50 program project/center grants.

All key personnel have designated personal computers. These computers all have licensed copies of 

office productivity software (Microsoft), image analysis suites (Adobe), statistical/graphing software 

(GraphPad), and DNA sequence analysis. Several floating licenses are available to the investigators for 

DNA Sequencing (both Sanger-style and ‘Next-Generation’) analysis software from CLCbio and 

Biomatters, as well as licenses for Fragment Analysis software from Softgenetics and from Applied 

Biosciences.

The trainees will be hosted at OSP. The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), under the direction of the 

Office of Research Administration (ORA), provides assistance to faculty and staff in obtaining and 

managing sponsored awards that support scholarly activities. OSP is charged with reviewing and approving 

proposals submitted to all sponsors, for interpreting, negotiating, and accepting grants and contracts for 

sponsored projects funded by federal and state agencies, foundations and other public and private sources, 

and providing guidance to assure proper stewardship of funds that are received. In addition, OSP prepares 

and negotiates subawards for collaborative research and works closely with faculty and business office

staff to ensure financial compliance and proper accounting of externally sponsored funds. OSP’s financial 

management responsibilities include cash management, financial reporting, award closeout, and effort 

reporting. The OSP has about eighty (80) staff including financial analyst, sponsored project specialist, 

senior grant manager, effort reporting administrator, proposal manager etc. It also has sub units which 

operate under the supervision of Directors and Managers:

Sponsored office

Project Management office 

Contract office

Financial office 

Contact office 

Accounts office

Project management office 

Project coordination office
Page 10

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

RESEARCH & RELATED Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded)

OMB Number: 4040-0001

Expiration Date: 10/31/2019

PROFILE - Project Director/Principal Investigator

Prefix: First Name*: Nana Middle Name Oye Last Name*: Akuffo Suffix: 

Position/Title*: Research Development Officer

Organization Name*: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Department:

Division:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

Zip / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number:

E-Mail*:

Credential, e.g., agency login:

Project Role*: PD/PI Other Project Role Category:

Degree Type: Degree Year:

Attach Biographical Sketch*: File Name: BIOSKETCH_NANA_CABERA-II_2019.pdf

Attach Current & Pending Support: File Name:
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 11

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

PROFILE - Senior/Key Person

Prefix: First Name*: KWADWO Middle Name ANSAH Last Name*: KORAM Suffix: Ph.D

Position/Title*: PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

Organization Name*: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

Department: Epidemiology

Division:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

Zip / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number:

E-Mail*:

Credential, e.g., agency login:

Project Role*: Co-Investigator Other Project Role Category:

Degree Type: Degree Year:

Attach Biographical Sketch*: File Name: BIOSKETCH_KORAM_CABERA-II_2019.pdf

Attach Current & Pending Support: File Name:

PROFILE - Senior/Key Person

Prefix: First Name*: Griselda Middle Name Last Name*: Annan Suffix: 

Position/Title*: Senior Administrative Personnel

Organization Name*: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

Department: Office for Research Support

Division:

Street1*:

Street2:

City*:

County:

State*:

Province:

Country*: GHA: GHANA

Zip / Postal Code*:

Phone Number*: Fax Number:

E-Mail*:

Credential, e.g., agency login:

Project Role*: Other (Specify) Other Project Role Category: Project Coordinator

Degree Type: Degree Year:

Attach Biographical Sketch*: File Name: BIOSKETCH_ANNAN_CABERA-II_2019.pdf

Attach Current & Pending Support: File Name:
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 12

Biosketches

qOMB No. 0925-0001 and 0925-0002 (Rev. 09/17 Approved Through 03/31/2020)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors.

Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FIVE PAGES.

NAME: Akuffo, Nana Oye

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login):

POSITION TITLE: Research Development Administrator

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, 

include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE END DATE FIELD OF STUDY

(if applicable) MM/YYYY

 

University of Cape Coast B.Ed (Hons) 2001 Business Management

Central University College MBA 2008 Human Resource Management 

African Center for Capacity Building Certificate 2012 Project Management

Society of Research Administrators, Virginia Certificate 2016 Introduction to Research Admin-NIH

A. Personal Statement

I am the Research Development Officer/Coordinator for the Office for Research Support at the Noguchi 

Memorial Institute for Medical Research Institute. I played a key role in setting up the Office of Sponsored 

Research, which was set up in order to streamline the grants administration process at the Institute and am 

fully committed to the successful running of this project. In 2016, in collaboration with Yale Office of 

Sponsored Projects, I applied for and was awarded a grant by NIH for the project titled “Capacity Building 

for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research” for 

capacity building of the ORS and establishing an office of sponsored research in two identified universities 

in Ghana. The aims of the project include training two administrators at Yale Office for sponsored research 

to acquire skills in research administration and establishing a bi-directional relationship between NMIMR and 

Yale University for ongoing support and knowledge exchange. A main feature of the grant is to identify two 

Institutions with NIH funded grants and assist them establish a research support office with a working 

knowledge of NIH policies and regulations. In 2018, I was awarded the maiden Research Administrators 

Mobility Program (RAMP) Scholarship by Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI). The 

newly established scholarship was designed to provide financial support for an in-house training at the Office 

of Sponsored Projects (OSP) at Yale University for the purpose of observing, learning and understanding 

more about the business operations and processes involved with sponsored projects at Yale University. I 

believe these experiences puts me in the right position to apply for this grant to support other Institutions to 

establish and strengthen their research support office

B. Positions and Honors 

Positions and Employment

2002 – 2004 Senior Administrative Assistant, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research 

2004 – 2008 Principal Administrative Assistant, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research 

2008 – 2010 Project Assistant, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

2010 – Date Coordinator, Postdoctoral/Fellowship Programme, Noguchi Memorial Institute for 

Medical Research

2010 – Date Coordinator, Office of Sponsored Research, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical 

Research
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 13

Biosketches

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

2010 Member, Reviewing Committee for the Implementation, Postdoc 

2011 – Coordinator, ORS

2011 – Coordinator, Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

2011 – Member, NMIMR Administrative Committee Member

2011 – Date Research Development Officer, Office of Research Support, NMIMR 

2012 – Date Coordinator for H3Africa Kidney

2012 – Member, Establishment of NIACUC 

2012 – Member, Faculty Board, NMIMR

C. Contribution to Science

As the Coordinator of the ORS, I have facilitated in winning several research awards for the institute. Most of 

these grants have over the years contributed towards the elimination of infectious disease such as malaria, 

buruli ulcer, neglected tropical disease (NTDs), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis (TB) 

and many others. Though complete elimination has not yet being achieved in most of the endemic 

communities, their research have resulted in significant health policy development and health promotion 

initiatives in Ghana. Amongst the countless contributions made by the researches coordinated by the ORS, the 

following

1. Establishment of clinics in rural areas and the introduction of services such as childhood immunisation, 

antenatal care, treatment of parasitic diseases and minor illnesses as well as health education 

and basic sanitation programmes to reduce infant and child morbidity and mortality.

2. Students from the country’s tertiary institutions and foreign universities are regularly attached to 

NMIMR

for laboratory experience and conducting research projects for university degrees. 

Additionally, NMIMR’s Research Studentship Programme which provides opportunities for 

graduate students to

undertake their project work with full sponsorship from the Institute is well known and highly 

rated.

3. Through specialized training of middle level manpower and programme managers, the Institute 

has enhanced the preparedness of health systems for disease diagnosis and control and currently 

acts as the first point of call in providing research capacity to manage emerging and re-emerging 

epidemics such as Avian Influenza.

4. Train postdoctoral scientists to increase the human resource of the institute.

5. NMIMR provides scientific evidence to inform Malaria treatment and control policy, and has made 

available laboratory diagnostic support towards Polio eradication, control of Measles, management 

of Buruli ulcer, as well as epidemiological and diagnostic support for the control of schistosomiasis 

(bilharzias)/ intestinal worms. Additionally it provides support for the development of plant medicines

D. Additional Information: Research Support and/or Scholastic Performance 

Ongoing Research Support

NIAID/NIH (1U19AI129916) Wilson (PI) 2017-2022

Noguchi Institute Initiative for Neglected Tropical Diseases Elimination (NIINE)

Overall Goals: To identify the major individual, community, environmental and the parasitic risk factors 

associated with hookworm infections, treatment failures and reinfections. Also in the implementation of NIINE 

to identify genetic markers of resistance and subsequently use them to map drug responses and monitoring of

resistance. It is envisaged that products of NIINE will improve the monitoring and evaluation of existing 

deworming campaigns.
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 14

Biosketches

Role: Grants Administrator

NHGRI 1U54HG010275-01 Ghansah, Tindana (PIs) 2018-2023

Title: Community Engagement in Biobanking and Genomics (CEBioGen)

Description: This study will investigate the role of community engagement in genomic research and biobanking 

in sub-Saharan Africa through collaborative research projects across six African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, 

South Africa, The Gambia, Tanzania and Kenya.

Role: Grants Administrator

Completed Research Support

NIAID/NIH1G11AI131250-01 Akuffo (PI) 2017-2018

Title: Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) at Noguchi Memorial Institute for 

Medical Research

Goal: develop a robust and sustainable ORS that can efficiently manage pre- and post-award research 

grants, and to build capacity of a cadre of staff knowledgeable in research administration.

Role: PI

Grant ref. no. 1U01IP000607-01 William Ampofo (PI) 2012-2017

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA

Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment of Influenza and Other Respiratory Infections in Ghana.

Goal: Determining the epidemiology, treatment and prevention of respiratory infections to assist in producing 

reliable estimates of the burden of ALRI and to inform the preparation of national preparedness plans against 

influenza epidemics

Role: Administrator

Grant ref.no.1U54HG006939-01 Dwomoh Adu (PI) 2012-2017

H3Africa Kidney,(NIH,USA)

Goal: Establish a kidney disease cohort of 4,000 participants and 4,000 controls (from a target population of 

312 million in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria and to establish and maintain two sustainable genomic 

research laboratories in sub- Saharan Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya) using rugged , low capitalintensity laboratory technology platform developed at University of Michigan (U-M), Department of Human

Genetics. Role: Coordinator.

Grant ref. no. 1P50AI098505-01 Seydou Doumbia PI) 2012-2017

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in W est Africa: the Parasite, Vector and Disease

Goal: Characterize post-epidemic CL transmission in 3 atypical foci located in the Ho District, Ghana 

and determine the prevalence of CL (infection and disease) in 3 atypical foci located in the Ho District, 

Ghana. Role: Coordinator

Grant ref.no. Micheal Ofori (PI) 2013-2017

Role: Coordinator

Grant ref.no. James Brandful (PI) 2012-2017

Role: Coordinator
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 15

Biosketches

OMB No. 0925-0001 and 0925-0002 (Rev. 09/17 Approved Through 03/31/2020)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

NAME: Koram, Kwadwo Ansah

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login):

POSITION TITLE: Professor of Epidemiology

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, 

include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

DEGREE Completion 

(if applicable) Date FIELD OF STUDY INSTITUTION AND LOCATION MM/YYYY

University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana MB, ChB 05/1982 Medicine

University of Tulane, School of Public Health, New MPH & TM 06/1988 Public Health /Tropical 

Orleans, USA Medicine

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, PhD 07/1993 Public Health and 

London, UK Epidemiology

A. Personal Statement

My work in rural and deprived communities in Ghana at the beginning of my medical career exposed me 

early to the challenges of mounting an effective public health response to the high burden of infectious 

diseases if one is to make a significant contribution to the improvement of health in the country. My broad 

training in epidemiology and public health with practical hands-on training at the MRC Labs in The Gambia 

allowed me to develop skills in all aspects of large-scale epidemiologic research including field organization, 

data management, and analysis, especially as it relates to vector-borne diseases. Since returning home 

after my doctorate, I have worked at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) as an 

infectious disease epidemiologist and, most recently, as the Director NMIMR. I devoted much of my early 

career to studies of the immuno-epidemiology of malaria, treatment efficacy and intervention studies. I 

served as PI or Co-Investigator on a number of such projects, leading studies from protocol design, staffing, 

recruitment, data collection and analysis, to publication of manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Through 

these studies, I have been able to establish strong ties with several communities and gained experience 

coordinating large collaborations across several countries and diverse groups. As Director of NMIMR, I 

worked to expand our research portfolio to address breadth of public health priorities for Ghana, from 

chronic diseases to emerging infections. I also have long valued mentoring students and junior scientists, 

activities I will be able to engage more now that I have stepped down as the substantive director of the 

Institute. I am particularly enthusiastic about the proposed research on computational models of immunity 

as I will be able to engage further in the earlier work on immune-epidemiology of malaria that I was

actively involved in. Expanding the research to include computational biology should lead to new insights 

in the control of natural infections in endemic populations and ultimately lead to the development of novel 

tools for the control of malaria. The proposed research will also allow us support training of our staff in 

computational biology with our US collaborators at the Loyola University and eventually build a critical 

mass of young researchers in this area at the Institute. I will serve as subcontract PI and see this as an 

ideal opportunity to undertake innovative science and build research capacity for an important and emerging 

research area in West Africa.

1. Asante KP, Owusu-Agyei S, Cairns M, Boamah E, Manu G, Twumasi M, Gyasi R, Adjei G, Kayan K, 

Mahama E, Dosoo DK, Koram K, Greenwood B, Chandramohan D. Non-malaria fevers in a high 

malaria endemic area of Ghana. BMC Infect Dis. 2016;16:327. PubMed PMID: 27400781.

2. Greenwood B, Koram K. Malaria control in Africa: progress but still much to do. Lancet.

2014;383(9930):1703-4. Epub 2014/02/25. PubMed PMID: 24559538.

3. Dadzie S, Boakye D, Asoala V, Koram K, Kiszewski A, Appawu M. A community-wide study of malaria 

reduction: evaluating efficacy and user-acceptance of a low-cost repellent in northern Ghana. Am J Trop 

Med Hyg. 2013;88(2):309-14. PubMed PMID: 23249683.
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

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Biosketches

4. Awini EA, Bonney JHK, Frimpong JA, Ampofo WK, Koram KA. Information gaps in surveillance data 

and effects on the Ghanaian response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Ghana Med J. 

2017;51(3):115-9. Epub 2018/04/07. PubMed PMID: 29622822.

B. Positions and Honors 

Positions and Employment

2017 - Professor (Research), Epidemiology Department, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical 

Research, University of Ghana, Legon

2012 – 2017 Director, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, 

Ghana

2009 – 2012 Deputy Director, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, 

Legon, Ghana

2005 – 2009 Associate Professor & Head, Department of Epidemiology, 

1999 – 2005 Senior Research Fellow & Head

1994 – present Coordinator /Lecturer. Principles of Epidemiology course, School of Public Health,

University of Ghana. Legon

1993 – 1998 Research Fellow, Epidemiology

1989 – 1992 Scientific Officer (Epidemiology) MRC Labs, Atlantic Boulevard, Fajara, Banjul, The 

Gambia

1989 District Medical Officer of Health, Bawku District, Bawku Hospital, Bawku, Ghana 

1984 – 1987 Medical Officer, Bawku District, Bawku Hospital, Bawku, Ghana

1982 – 1983 House Officer (Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ghana Medical School 

Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

1995 – 2000 Member, Coordinating Committee, African Malaria Vaccine Testing Network st 1999 Member, Planning committee for 21 African Health Sciences Congress meeting

2000 – present Member, Editorial Board, Ghana Medical Journal

2001 – 2005 Member, Scientific Coordinating Committee, African Malaria Vaccine Network Trust

2004 – present Member, Independent Data Monitoring Committee for RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Trials 

sponsored by GSK Biologicals

2004 – present Chair, Quality Assurance Task Force, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research 

2004 – 2008 Member of the Scientific Review Panel for the Ghana – Dutch Joint Programme

Committee

2008 Examiner, MPH, Witts School of Public Health

2009 Member Scientific Review Committee, EDCTP

2009 Reviewer for the BMGF

2009 -present Member, Editorial Board, Malaria Research & Treatment

Honors

1989 WHO/TDR Fellowship in Epidemiology, MRC Labs Fajara, The Gambia

C. Contribution to Science

1. Socio-economic status and severe malaria. Risk factors for severe malaria have not been well 

established and we still do not understand why children in the same community with apparently similar 

exposure to infectious bites have different disease courses. My early research established that while socioeconomic factors may be important in changing the risk of infection, once infected, the course of the disease, 

whether a child develops severe malaria or uncomplicated malaria was less affected by the socio-economic 

status. I was the PI on the key study on socio-economic risk factors for severe malaria, a part of a large-scale 

study on the risk factors of severe malaria in The Gambia.

a) Koram KA, Bennett S, Adiamah JH, Greenwood BM. Socio-economic determinants are not major risk 

factors for severe malaria in Gambian children. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1995;89(2):151-4. PubMed 

PMID: 7778138.

b) Koram KA, Bennett S, Adiamah JH, Greenwood BM. Socio-economic risk factors for malaria in a periurban area of The Gambia. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1995;89(2):146-50. PubMed PMID: 7778137.

c) Adiamah JH, Koram KA, Thomson MC, Lindsay SW, Todd J, Greenwood BM. Entomological risk 

factors for severe malaria in a peri-urban area of The Gambia. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1993;87(5):491- 
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 17

Biosketches

500. PubMed PMID: 8311575.

2. Malaria immunity in young children. Subsequent to these early studies, I was involved in the design 

and execution of immune- epidemiological studies on malaria in collaboration with several investigators both 

at home and outside my home institution. The studies were designed with a view to understanding the 

acquisition of natural immunity in a malaria endemic area. We documented that maternal immunity wanes 

very early in life and infections are relatively common in infancy even in areas of moderate transmission. In 

addition, we were able to establish that infants are able to control low density infections without getting ill 

and that illness usually meant either exposure to a “new” parasite strain or high density infection. This work 

also demonstrated that immunity to some parasite antigens were associated with clinical protection from 

malaria.

a) Riley EM, Wagner GE, Ofori MF, Wheeler JG, Akanmori BD, Tetteh K, McGuinness D, Bennett S, 

Nkrumah FK, Anders RF, Koram KA. Lack of association between maternal antibody and protection of 

African infants from malaria infection. Infect Immun. 2000;68(10):5856-63. Epub 2000/09/19. PubMed 

PMID: 10992495.

b) Riley EM, Wagner GE, Akanmori BD, Koram KA. Do maternally acquired antibodies protect infants from 

malaria infection? Parasite Immunol. 2001;23(2):51-9. PubMed PMID: 11240896.

c) Franks S, Koram KA, Wagner GE, Tetteh K, McGuinness D, Wheeler JG, Nkrumah F, RanfordCartwright L, Riley EM. Frequent and persistent, asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infections in 

African infants, characterized by multilocus genotyping. J Infect Dis. 2001;183(5):796-804. PubMed 

PMID: 11181157.

d) Theisen M, Dodoo D, Toure-Balde A, Soe S, Corradin G, Koram KK, Kurtzhals JA, Hviid L, Theander 

T, Akanmori B, Ndiaye M, Druilhe P. Selection of glutamate-rich protein long synthetic peptides for 

vaccine development: antigenicity and relationship with clinical protection and immunogenicity. Infect 

Immun. 2001;69(9):5223-9. PubMed PMID: 11500389.

3. Chloroquine resistance for uncomplicated malaria. The effectiveness of malaria treatment had become 

an issue by the late 1990s and chloroquine and SP, which had been the mainstay of treatment, had begun to 

fail in several places. We conducted a series of studies to assess the efficacy of malaria treatment in Ghana 

and documented conclusively that Chloroquine was no longer effective for the treatment of uncomplicated 

malaria. We went on further to conduct trials to determine which treatment could be used in place of these 

two. We developed further studies to further understand the underlying molecular determinants of the 

observed resistance and confirmed that parasites in Ghana had similar mutations to those observed 

previously. These studies had clear policy implications and we worked with the National Malaria Control 

Program to develop new treatment guidelines based on the results of our studies. I was the PI of these studies 

responsible for the overall management of these studies from concept design, through field work and 

manuscript preparation.

a) Koram K, Quaye L, Abuaku B. Efficacy of amodiaquine/artesunate combination therapy for 

uncomplicated malaria in children under five years in ghana. Ghana Med J. 2008;42(2):55-60. PubMed 

PMID: 19180204.

b) Alam MT, de Souza DK, Vinayak S, Griffing SM, Poe AC, Duah NO, Ghansah A, Asamoa K, Slutsker 

L, Wilson MD, Barnwell JW, Udhayakumar V, Koram KA. Selective sweeps and genetic lineages 

of Plasmodium falciparum drug -resistant alleles in Ghana. J Infect Dis. 2011;203(2):220-7. PubMed 

PMID: 21288822.

c) Koram KA, Abuaku B, Duah N, Quashie N. Comparative efficacy of antimalarial drugs including ACTs 

in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria among children under 5 years in Ghana. Acta Trop. 

2005;95(3):194-203. Epub 2005/08/02. PubMed PMID: 16054584.

d) Abuaku B, Duah N, Quaye L, Quashie N, Malm K, Bart-Plange C, Koram K. Therapeutic efficacy of 

artesunate-amodiaquine and artemether-lumefantrine combinations in the treatment of uncomplicated 

malaria in two ecological zones in Ghana. Malar J. 2016;15:6. PubMed PMID: 26728096.

D. Research Support

Ongoing Research Support

Role: Co PI 2014-2019
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

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Biosketches

Role: Ghana PI 2014 – 2019

Major goals of the project are to provide advanced bioinformatics and statistical training for young African 

scientist on the continent.

Recently Completed Projects

Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment of Influenza and Other Respiratory Infections in Ghana CDC 

1U01IP000607-01 (Ampofo, PI) 10/2012-9/2017

Role Co PI

The major goals of this project were to collect and analyze the data from these studies to determine the relative 

importance of influenza and other respiratory pathogens as causes of ill health in the Ghana

The Impact of Seasonality and Vector Control on the Population Structure of Plasmodium falciparum

FIC/NIH 1R01TW009670-01 (Pascual, PI) 9/1/2013 – 8/31/2017

Role PI for Ghana studies

The major goals of this project were to (1) develop a strain theory for Plasmodium falciparum malaria to explain 

the population structure and genetic diversity of the pathogen, from the perspective of a major antigen 

(PfEMP1) encoded by the multi-copy var gene family; (2) to test this theory with a unique genetic data set that 

will be obtained as part of this project and allow us to document changes in population structure through time, 

space, and a major vector intervention.
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 19

Biosketches

OMB No. 0925-0001 and 0925-0002 (Rev. 09/17 Approved Through 03/31/2020)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors.

Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FIVE PAGES.

NAME: Annan, Griselda

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login):

POSITION TITLE: Senior Research Administrative Personnel

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, 

include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE END DATE FIELD OF STUDY

(if applicable) MM/YYYY

University of Ghana BA (Hons) 2010 English

University of Ghana MPhil 2018 English

Society of Research Administrators, Florida Certificate 2018 Introduction to NIH

A. Personal Statement

I am the Research Administrative Personnel in the Office for Research Support and work closely with the 

Research Development Officer since the inception of the ORS. I assist both students and staff in the areas of 

training opportunities and involvement in research activities. I play a key role in grants submission processes, 

tracking of submitted grants, coordination of project activities, post-award processes such as preparation and 

submission of progress reports, request for funds, compliance issues, etc. I have attended some international 

workshops and the knowledge acquired from these workshop equipped me to facilitate and organize two 

major workshops in my Institute. In 2018, I attended the NIH sponsored in-house training at the Yale Office 

for Sponsored Projects for two-weeks where I shadowed the grants management activities of the office.

Based on this, I assisted in training staff of research support offices in Noguchi and two other Universities in 

Ghana. This platform has offered me the opportunity to enhance my training capacity as well as broaden my 

knowledge in establishing research support offices. This grant will therefore be another stepping stone to 

further develop my capacity in research management and assist other staff to improve their grants 

management skills.

B. Positions and Honors 

Positions and Employment

2010 – 2016 Research Administrative Personnel, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research 

2017- present Senior Research Administrative Personnel, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical

Research

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

2 0 1 3 - Facilitator- Workshop for Departmental Secretaries, NMIMR. August 2013.

2 0 1 4 - Participant- West African Research Innovation and Management Association (WARIMA) 

Conference.

2 0 1 5 - Participant- Seminar on Academic Writing. NMIMR

2 0 1 5 - Organizer- West African Research Innovation and Management (WARIMA). NMIMR. 

2 0 1 6 - P a r t i c i p a n t Research Grant Development Management Workshop. Obstetrics and
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 20

Biosketches

Gynecology Conference Room, Korle-Bu.

2016- Facilitator Research Administration Training. College of Health Science, University of 

Ghana.

2016 Participant- South African Research Innovation and Management (SARIMA). Durban, 

South Africa.

2017 - Member Society for Research Administrators, 2017 Annual General Meeting

2018 – Participant National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID/NIH Post Award 

Grants Policy and Management Training, Dakar, Senegal

2018 – Facilitator Research Management Training Workshop for ORS Staff and Administrative 

Assistants, NMIMR 

2018 – Facilitator Grants Management Training workshop for Research Faculty, NMIMR

2018 – Resource Person Establishment of a Research Support Office at the University of Development 

Studies (UDS), Tamale

2018 – Resource Person Enhancing Research Support at the University of Mines and Technology 

(UMaT), Tarkwa

C. Contribution to Science

D. Additional Information: Research Support and/or Scholastic Performance 

Ongoing Research Support

NIAID/NIH (1U19AI129916) Wilson (PI) 2017-2022

Noguchi Institute Initiative for Neglected Tropical Diseases Elimination (NIINE)

Overall Goals: To identify the major individual, community, environmental and the parasitic risk factors 

associated with hookworm infections, treatment failures and reinfections. Also in the implementation of NIINE 

to identify genetic markers of resistance and subsequently use them to map drug responses and monitoring of

esistance. It is envisaged that products of NIINE will improve the monitoring and evaluation of existing 

deworming campaigns.

Role: Administrative Assistant

NHGRI 1U54HG010275-01 Ghansah, Tindana (PIs) 2018-2023

Title: Community Engagement in Biobanking and Genomics (CEBioGen)

Description: This study will investigate the role of community engagement in genomic research and biobanking 

in sub-Saharan Africa through collaborative research projects across six African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, 

South Africa, The Gambia, Tanzania and Kenya.

Role: Administrative Assistant

Completed Research Support

NIAID/NIH1G11AI131250-01 Akuffo (PI) 2017-2018

Title: Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) at Noguchi Memorial Institute for 

Medical Research

Goal: develop a robust and sustainable ORS that can efficiently manage pre- and post-award research 

grants, and to build capacity of a cadre of staff knowledgeable in research administration.

Role: Administrative Assistant
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

RESEARCH & RELATED BUDGET - SECTION A & B, Budget Period 1 

OMB Number: 4040-0001

Expiration Date: 10/31/2019

ORGANIZATIONAL DUNS*:

Budget Type*: ● Project ❍ Subaward/Consortium

Enter name of Organization: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Start Date*: 06-01-2020 End Date*: 12-31-2020 Budget Period: 1 

A. Senior/Key Person

Prefix First Name* Middle Last Name* Suffix Project Role* Base Calendar Academic Summer Requested Fringe Funds Requested ($)*

Name Salary ($) Months Months Months Salary ($)* Benefits ($)*

1 . Nana Oye Akuffo PD/PI 3.0 0.00

2 . Prof. Kwadwo Ansah Koram Co-Investigator 1.2 0.00

3 . Griselda Annan Project 6.0 0.00

Coordinator

Total Funds Requested for all Senior Key Persons in the attached file

Additional Senior Key Persons: File Name: Total Senior/Key Person

B. Other Personnel 

Number of Project Role* Calendar Months Academic Months Summer Months Requested Sa ary ($)* Fringe Benefits* Funds Requested ($)*

Personnel*

Post Doctoral Associates

Graduate Students 

Undergraduate Students

1 Secretarial/Clerical 6.0 0.00

1 Total Number Other Personnel Total Other Personnel 

Total Salary, Wages and Fringe Benefits (A+B)

RESEARCH & RELATED Budget {A-B} (Funds Requested)

Page 21

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877 Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date: 2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 22

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

RESEARCH & RELATED BUDGET - SECTION C, D, & E, Budget Period 1 

ORGANIZATIONAL DUNS*:

Budget Type*: ● Project ❍ Subaward/Consortium

Organization: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Start Date*: 06-01-2020 End Date*: 12-31-2020 Budget Period: 1 

C. Equipment Description

List items and dollar amount for each item exceeding $5,000

Equipment Item Funds Requested ($)*

Total funds requested for all equipment listed in the attached file

Total Equipment 0.00

Additional Equipment: File Name:

D. Travel Funds Requested ($)*

1. Domestic Travel Costs ( Incl. Canada, Mexico, and U.S. Possessions)

2. Foreign Travel Costs

Total Travel Cost

E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs Funds Requested ($)*

1. Tuition/Fees/Health Insurance

2. Stipends

3. Travel

4. Subsistence

5. Other:

Number of Participants/Trainees Total Participant Trainee Support Costs 0.00

RESEARCH & RELATED Budget {C-E} (Funds Requested)
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 23

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

RESEARCH & RELATED BUDGET - SECTIONS F-K, Budget Period 1 

ORGANIZATIONAL DUNS*:

Budget Type*: ● Project ❍ Subaward/Consortium

Organization: NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE / MEDICAL RES

Start Date*: 06-01-2020 End Date*: 12-31-2020 Budget Period: 1 

F. Other Direct Costs Funds Requested ($)*

1. Materials and Supplies

2. Publication Costs

3. Consultant Services

4. ADP/Computer Services

5. Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs

6. Equipment or Facility Rental/User Fees

7. Alterations and Renovations 

8 . sustainability

9 . webinar

10 . training and communication

Total Other Direct Costs

G. Direct Costs Funds Requested ($)*

Total Direct Costs (A thru F)

H. Indirect Costs

Indirect Cost Type Indirect Cost Rate (%) Indirect Cost Base ($) Funds Requested ($)*

1 . facilities and administrative charges 8.0

Total Indirect Costs

Cognizant Federal Agency

(Agency Name, POC Name, and POC Phone Number)

I. Total Direct and Indirect Costs Funds Requested ($)*

Total Direct and Indirect Institutional Costs (G + H)

J. Fee Funds Requested ($)*

K. Total Costs and Fee Funds Requested ($)*

L. Budget Justification* File Name: 

BUDGETJUSTIFICATIONS_CaBERAII_NOA_2019.pdf

(Only attach one file.)

RESEARCH & RELATED Budget {F-K} (Funds Requested)
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 24

Budget Justification Attachment

NMIMR BUDGET JUSTIFICATION

Personnel

Mrs. Nana Oye Akuffo, Principal Investigator (30% effort for the entire 18 months period) 

Base Salary:

Funds are requested for 3 calendar months’ salary support for Ms. Akuffo, a Research 

Development Officer in the Office for Research Support (ORS) at NMIMR. Ms. Akuffo will 

receive a two-week training at the Yale University, and in turn train the staff of NMIMR and also 

other local institutions. She will also coordinate activities of training sessions both at NMIMR 

and other institutions.

Prof. Kwadwo Ansah Koram, Co-Investigator (10% effort for the entire 18 months period) 

Base Salary:

Prof. Kwadwo Ansah Koram is a former Director of Noguchi and has supervised over one 

hundred projects. He will coordinate with the PI to run the project effectively and supervise 

trainings. He will also assist in evaluating the needs assessment test and be part of 

communications between the PI and selected institutions.

Griselda Annan, Project Coordinator (40% effort for the entire 18 months period) 

Base Salary:

Funds are requested for 6 calendar months’ salary support for the Project Coordinator who will 

be coordinating meetings and the managing the activities of the project. She will supervise the 

needs assessment test at the selected Institutions and compile them for evaluation. She has 

worked closely with the PI since the inception of the ORS and she has knowledge in project and 

grants management because she has been coordinating projects for a while.

Financial and Administrative Assistant (40% effort for the entire 18 months period) 

Base Salary:

Funds are requested for 6 calendar months’ salary support for a Financial and Administrative 

Personnel who will provide support for trainings, conference calls, provide administrative and 

financial support for the entire period.

Equipment

N/A

Supplies

Two laptops will be purchased for the PI and Co-PI at each for effective management of 

the project.

Travel

Domestic Travel: Funds have been set-aside in for the 18 months to allow the PI and the 

project coordinator plus one senior administrator from the beneficiary CaBERA Institutions to 

travel to Yale University for two-weeks training. The costs include transportation from Ghana on
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 25

Budget Justification Attachment

US flag air carries, accommodation, in country transport, and in food/incidentals. All travel will 

follow NIH guidelines. The project coordinator and the senior administrator to be named will also 

attend the NIH regional seminar on program funding and grants administration in 2020 which 

has been costed in the travel budget. The PI and the project Coordinator will attend a five-day of 

in-house training with the Grants Management Program (GMP) at NIAID in Rockville, MD. The 

total amount budgeted for all domestic travel is

Local/International Travel: Funds have been set-aside for the 18-month period to allow the 

grants management team travel to the local institutions for training. This will include visit to the 

two CaBERA beneficially Universities for grant submission workshops. Funds will also be used

to visit the two selected institutes in the sub region during period two and three for training and 

evaluation. All travel will follow NIH guidelines. The total is . 

Other Expenses

Consultancy: the US host institution is not requesting funds for consultant services.

Training: A total of have been allocated for the 18-month period for the organization of

grants submission workshop for the research faculty of NMIMR, UDS and UMaT. Grants 

management training will also be organized for two selected institutions in the sub region during 

period two and three.

Communication: There will be regular communication between the PI and the mentors in Yale. 

The Project coordinator will also communicate with the various Institutions to organize training 

and set up meeting. This will be at a cost of for the 18-month period.

Publications: a total of has been budgeted in year 2 for publication of project data at

the end of the project.

Webinar and Video Conferencing: has been allocated for webinar training and video 

conferencing for the 18-months period.

Sustainability Initiative: a total of has budgeted for the 18-months period for

sustainability of the training program.

Indirect Costs

As an International Institution, Facilities & Administration (F&A) costs of 8% will be applied 

towards the Total Modified Direct Costs (TMDC).
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Page 26

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

RESEARCH & RELATED BUDGET - Cumulative Budget

Totals ($)

Section A, Senior/Key Person 

Section B, Other Personnel

Total Number Other Personnel 1

Total Salary, Wages and Fringe Benefits 

(A+B)

0.00

Section C, Equipment 

Section D, Travel

1. Domestic

2. Foreign

0.00

Section E, Participant/Trainee Support 

Costs

1. Tuition/Fees/Health Insurance 0.00

2. Stipends 0.00

3. Travel 0.00

4. Subsistence 0.00

5. Other 0.00

6. Number of Participants/Trainees 0

Section F, Other Direct Costs

1. Materials and Supplies

2. Publication Costs

3. Consultant Services 0.00

4. ADP/Computer Services 0.00

5. Subawards/Consortium/Contractual 0.00

Costs

6. Equipment or Facility Rental/User 0.00

Fees

7. Alterations and Renovations 0.00

8. Other 1 

9. Other 2 

10. Other 3 

Section G, Direct Costs 

(A thru F)

Section H, Indirect Costs

Section I, Total Direct and Indirect Costs 

(G + H)

Section J, Fee 0.00

Section K, Total Costs and Fee (I + J)
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

Page 27

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

1. Vertebrate Animals Section

Are vertebrate animals euthanized? ❍ Yes ● No

If "Yes" to euthanasia

Is the method consistent with American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines?

❍ Yes ❍ No

If "No" to AVMA guidelines, describe method and provide scientific justification

2. *Program Income Section

*Is program income anticipated during the periods for which the grant support is requested?

❍ Yes ● No

If you checked "yes" above (indicating that program income is anticipated), then use the format below to reflect the amount and 

source(s). Otherwise, leave this section blank.

*Budget Period *Anticipated Amount ($) *Source(s)

OMB Number: 0925-0001

Expiration Date: 03/31/2020
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

Page 28

Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 . Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

3. Human Embryonic Stem Cells Section

*Does the proposed project involve human embryonic stem cells? ❍ Yes ● No

If the proposed project involves human embryonic stem cells, list below the registration number of the specific cell line(s) from the 

following list: http://grants.nih.gov/stem_cells/registry/current.htm. Or, if a specific stem cell line cannot be referenced at this time, 

check the box indicating that one from the registry will be used:

❏ Specific stem cell line cannot be referenced at this time. One from the registry will be used.

Cell Line(s) (Example: 0004):

4. Inventions and Patents Section (Renewal applications)

*Inventions and Patents: ❍ Yes ● No

If the answer is "Yes" then please answer the following:

*Previously Reported: ❍ Yes ❍ No

5. Change of Investigator/Change of Institution Section

❏ Change of Project Director/Principal Investigator 

Name of former Project Director/Principal Investigator

Prefix:

*First Name:

Middle Name:

*Last Name:

Suffix:

❏ Change of Grantee Institution

*Name of former institution:
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

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Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335. Received Date:

2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00 Tracking Number: GRANT12912877

PHS 398 Research Plan OMB Number: 0925-0001

Expiration Date: 03/31/2020

Introduction

1. Introduction to Application

(for Resubmission and Revision applications)

Research Plan Section

2. Specific Aims SpecificAims_NOA_CaBERa-II_2019.pdf

3. Research Strategy* ResearchStrategy_CaBERA-II_NOA_2019.pdf

4. Progress Report Publication List

Other Research Plan Section

5. Vertebrate Animals

6. Select Agent Research

7. Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan

8. Consortium/Contractual Arrangements

9. Letters of Support LOS_CaBERA-II_NOA_2019.pdf

10. Resource Sharing Plan(s)

11. Authentication of Key Biological and/or 

Chemical Resources

Appendix

12. Appendix
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) in Africa 

SPECIFIC AIMS

In Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where significant health improvements and health 

services are needed most, several adverse constraints exist that prevent the achievement of 

these goals. Foremost among these include inadequate infrastructure, insufficient funds, and lack 

of research to underpin health strategies [1]. As a consequence, health inequalities exist whereby 

90% of the resources available for health research are spent on countries with 10% of the world’s 

problems and less than 10% of global resources for health research are available to developing 

countries where over 90% of all preventable deaths occur [1], a phenomenon universally known 

as the 90/10 gap. To address global health inequalities and to resolve internationally-connected 

health issues, will require building research capacity across this 90/10 divide.

To this end, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in 2016 applied for 

and won a NIH funded grant for capacity building in the area of research management; titled 

“Capacity Building for Enhanced Research Administration (CaBERA) at Noguchi Memorial 

Institute. Notable achievements of the project were the training of NMIMR research support staff, 

NMIMR research faculty, University of Ghana Research Development Officers, and the 

revamping of research support office at two Universities in Ghana; University of Development 

Studies (UDS), Tamale and University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa. The successful 

implementation of the project was due in part to the in-house training at the Yale Office for 

Sponsored Project attended by two senior administrators from Noguchi. The implementation of 

the project also led to policy changes and system development at NMIMR.

Due to the success of the CaBERA project and the recognition of the utility of a well functioning 

research support office in enhancing the research enterprise, there were invitations from other 

institutions in Ghana and within the sub region requesting support in enhancing research 

management. The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) is therefore 

applying for this support to continue where the CaBERA project left off and assist other institutions 

to benefit from the expertise and experience gained in the previous project. This project has the 

following specific aims:

1. Expand on the success of the CaBERA project to include other institutions in the sub 

region and assist them revamp their research management offices.

2. Provide training and capacity building services to staff of the selected research 

management offices

3. Serve as a resource hub for Grant Management and Sustainability to institutions in the 

sub region.

4. Sustain and support the two Universities from the CaBERA project to submit at least 

one award winning grant

Additionally, this initiative will create a network of experienced Grant Administrators from the 

various institutions and enhance their research grant management. This is a step towards 

addressing the 90/10 divide and resolve some of the inequalities in global health issues.

Specific Aims

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Research Strategy

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ENHANCED RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION II (CaBERA-II) IN 

AFRICA

RESEARCH GRANTS ADMINISTRATION/FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Grant Administration Plan at NMIMR

The office for Research Support (ORS) was set up in 2006 as a unit of the Administration 

department of the Institute, to coordinate research projects activities and provide pre- and postaward administrative services for all sponsored projects. The ORS is headed by a Research 

Development Officer in the Coordinating office who reports directly to the Director of the Institute. 

The Coordinating Office has direct oversight of the four sub-units of the ORS; Finance (working 

in collaboration with the Institute’s Finance Office), Compliance, Documentation and IT/Database 

Management, and Publications. The functions and the reporting structures are outlined in the 

Figure below.

Briefly, the ORS ensures that 

Principal Investigators (PIs) 

comply with all procedures on 

administrative, financial, audit 

and procurement systems of 

various funding agencies. The 

Office is also able to track the 

expenditure and balance of 

each project through the use of 

the Integrated Technology 

System (ITS). Under the 

CABERA 1 project,

departmental administrative

assistants were trained to 

assist faculty members with

grant application development and submissions. This has resulted in an increase in grant 

submissions, such that currently the ORS manages over one hundred externally-funded research 

projects. Principal Investigators are also notified accordingly of their technical and scientific 

reporting due dates to avoid missing deadlines. For the purposes of compliance to audit 

requirements, start and end dates of all projects, total budget for each project and number of 

inflows received by each project are documented. One of the topics discussed during the Grants 

Management training is the NIH Yellow Book Audit and this has given faculty members an 

overview of the audit requirements.

Financial Administration Plan

Funds are requested by PIs using the Requisition Form developed by the Finance Unit of the 

ORS. The form is then submitted to ORS and vetted for compliance with funding agency’s 

regulations. After it receives initial approval by ORS, the Director approves it subject to internal 

audit by the University of Ghana audit office and final approval given by the NMIMR Accountant. 

PIs retire funds to the Accounts office through the ORS using receipts and payment vouchers.
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Research Strategy

Other functions provided by the finance unit are budgeting control, invoicing and procurement 

among others (Fig 1).

Procurement of Equipment and supplies requests are made by PIs and vetted by the 

finance unit for compliance with national procurement laws and funding agencies’ regulations. 

The Director approves it subject to internal audit by the University of Ghana audit office and final 

approval given by the NMIMR Accountant, and payments made directly to suppliers. Items and 

supplies are received by the institute’s storekeeper. The goods are released to the PIs upon a 

formal request. All the items purchased by research projects are documented by the 

documentation unit.

Funding agencies and University of Ghana require an annual audit report and this is 

performed by internationally recognized accounting/auditing firms.

Requests to funding agencies depends on the status of current account of projects and 

it’s in compliance with NIH regulations covering this activity.

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION

In recognition of the need to improve the upon the efficiencies of the ORS at the Noguchi Memorial 

Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana, and introduce the benefits of a wellfunctioning research management office to other tertiary institutions, the Institute successfully 

applied to NIH for a G11 capacity building grant titled Capacity Building for Enhanced Research 

Administration (CaBERA). The grant, which was in collaboration with Yale University’s Office of 

Sponsored Research, was to strengthen the ORS at NMIMR and in addition help establish such 

offices in two other tertiary institutions in Ghana. In addition to the NMIMR, two other beneficiary 

Institutions of the project were the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa (UMaT) and the 

University of Development Studies, Tamale (UDS).

Table 1 provides the summary of activities undertook during the implementation of the CaBERA 

project at the various tertiary institutions as follows:

NMIMR, UG

One of the specific aims of CaBERA was to develop a robust and sustainable ORS that could 

efficiently manage entire processes of research grant administration and build capacity of a cadre 

of staff knowledgeable in research administration. To this end, two Senior Administrators from the 

ORS received one-month in-house training at the Yale Office for Sponsored Project (Yale-OSP). 

With the experience gained at Yale-OSP, a Research Management Training Workshop was 

organized for staff of the NMIMR ORS, NMIMR Research Faculty and NMIMR Departmental 

Administrative Assistants. A measurable impact of this trainings was ability of Administrative 

Assistants to support research faculty members in dissemination of eligible grant opportunities 

and assisting them in applying and submitting grants. Members of the research faculty also 

received knowledge in NIH policies and regulations, and this promoted effective communication 

between the ORS and the research faculty.

A Grants` Management Training Workshop was also organized for Research Development 

Officers from the various faculties in the University of Ghana (UG). To this end, three Research 

Development officers from UG were assigned to the Noguchi ORS to understudy.
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In addition to these trainings, other successes achieved during the CaBERA project was the 

revision of the Noguchi Grants Management Manual which has been submitted for approval by 

Management Board. Various policies and SOPs relating to research and research administration 

were also developed and submitted for reviews.

University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana

The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), is a mining-related university and is committed 

to excellence in teaching, research and development. An Office for Research, Innovation and 

Consultancy (ORIC) for this purpose was recently established. However, it was understaffed, and 

the personnel lacked knowledge of the basic rudiments of research administration. The office also 

had no registrations with funding agencies. The CaBERA team had meetings with the Pro-Vice 

Chancellor (ORIC), University Registrar, Provost and Assistant Provost which led to the signing 

of MOU between ORS-Noguchi and the UMaT to provide assistance in this regard, ultimately to 

make the University certifiable and to apply for grants.

Training workshops

The PI and Administrative Assistant of the CaBERA project visited the University thrice and spent 

five days on each visit with the staff of the office were instructed on all aspects of good research 

management practices.

Registrations with funding agencies

Currently, the University has been registered in the eRA commons and has a DUNS and CAGE 

No. Other registrations include registration in Grants.gov, European Union, Wellcome Trust, 

DANIDA and EDCTP. A one-day workshop was organized for the research faculty to educate 

them on the role of the research support office and the services available to them.

Compilation of research portfolios and SOPs

The staff were also assisted to compile the research portfolios of faculty members and a draft 

Grants Management Manual was developed. The CaBERA team assisted the office to revise 

existing and new policies and procedures governing research administration.

University of Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana

The University of Development Studies (UDS) is based in Tamale in the Northern Region of 

Ghana. The University for Development Studies, Tamale was established in 1992 as the fifth 

public university in Ghana. The mission of UDS is to promote equitable and socioeconomic 

transformation of communities through practically oriented, community based, problem solving, 

gender sensitive and interactive research, teaching, learning and outreach activities in order to 

advance community and national development. The University had also recently established a 

research administration unit which was called the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and 

Consultancy (IIRAC). However, IIRAC lacked dedicated and skilled staff and also the required 

certification/registration to apply for grants applications.

Based on a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor, the Deans of various department and the Director 

of IIRACS, an MOU was signed between ORS-Noguchi and the UDS to assist them restructure 

the office and make the University certifiable to apply for grants. The PI and Administrative 

Assistant of the CaBERA project visited the University twice and spent five days on each visit to 

train staff of the research support office in grants management. Currently, the University has been 

registered in the SAM and has a DUNS and CAGE No. The Registration in the eRA commons is
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Research Strategy

also completed. Other registrations include registration in Grants.gov, European Union, Wellcome 

Trust, DANIDA and EDCTP. Staff of the Office were also assisted to compile the research portfolio 

of faculty members and have also drafted a Grants Management Manual.

Table 1: Summary of training workshops and meetings held during of the CaBERA I project

Training Institution Date Academic Level Number of 

Attendees

12-13 Administrative 30

Research NMIMR September Assistants, 

Management 2017 Departmental

Secretaries

Grants NMIMR, RDOs, Research 

Management School of 10-11 April assistants, research 45

Public Health 2018 faculty, research board 

UG, UDS, members

UMat, 

University of 

Cape Coast

(UCC)

11-15

Research UDS December Research Fellows,

Management 2017 Research Assistants, 31

Grants Administrators

Grant Application 25-27 April

and Submission UDS 2018 Grant Administrators, 18

Processes Departmental 

Secretaries, research 

support staff,

Finance/Accounts staff

Basic Grant 20-21

Management UDS November Grant Administrators, 15

Principles 2018 Departmental 

Secretaries, research 

support staff,

Finance/Accounts staff

17-21

Research UMaT December Research Fellows, 

Management 2017 Research Assistants, 48

Grants Administrators
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Grant Application 16-20 April

and Submission UMaT 2018 Grant Administrators, 7 

Processes Departmental 

Secretaries, research 

support staff,

Finance/Accounts staff

Other significant achievements of CaBERA

After the completion of the CaBERA project, the team was invited by UDS on two occasions to 

assist faculty members submit three grants to Wellcome Trust (2) and NIH (1).

Significant outcomes of CaBERA were the interest expressed and invitations from other Ghanaian 

universities/institutions namely University of Cape Coast (UCC), University of Professional 

Studies (UPS), Ashesi University, Pentecost University, HopeXchange Medical Center and 

Methodist University all seeking assistance to establish research administration offices. The 

interests have not been limited to Ghanaian institutions only, but also Universities/Institutes in 

other African countries have expressed their desire to have offices of research support also 

established. These African institutions include the National Public Health Institute of Liberia 

(NPHIL), Ministry of Higher Education, Sierra Leone and The Catholic University of Cameroon 

(CATUC). Though communication links have been established with these Institutions, further 

progress have not been made due to the completion of the CaBERA project. The NMIMR is 

therefore applying for this grant to expand on the success of the CaBERA project and extend the 

experiences and knowledge gained to three of these Institutions.

ROLE OF US HOST INSTITUTION

Lisa Mosley, Director of the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), will oversee the hosting of senior 

administrators from Ghana, as outlined in the letter of support (attached). The Director`s office is 

responsible for managing all aspects of sponsored research at Yale, including federal grants, 

foundation awards, and contracts from industry that involve research performed by Yale faculty. 

She will communicate directly with Professor Annan (the Director of the NMIMR) in advance to 

ensure that the training provided to the administrators is relevant to the needs of the institution 

and their individual expertise. When the trainees arrive, they will be assigned to spend 1-3 days 

shadowing the managers of each unit at OSP, which will provide an opportunity for direct 

observation of specific research policies and practices implemented at Yale. Trainees will attend 

staff meetings and also engage informally with OSP project managers. At the end of each day, 

the participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and debrief to better understand the 

operations and policies of the institution. At the end of each week, there will be a summary 

discussion of the activities and further opportunity for answering questions and defining ways in 

which to transfer best practices to the NMIMR in specific areas of grants management.

At the conclusion of the 2-week visit, participants will provide formal, in person feedback to the 

Director of Yale OSP so that future training experiences can be improved. A follow up 

conversation will be arranged so that the Director and PI of CaBERA II can review together the 

trainees’ feedback. By establishing direct, personal relationships between the Yale OSP staff and 

the visiting administrators from Ghana, there will be ongoing opportunities to exchange email
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Research Strategy

queries, seek further advice and mentoring, and promote the sustainability of the policies and 

practices introduced through this short-term training program.

APPROACH

The overall strategy of the project is to expand on the success of the CaBERA project and assist 

institutions in the Ghana and the West African sub region to enhance their potential for successful 

competitive grant applications. The rationale being that researchers in most African institutions 

cannot compete with western counterparts because of lack of the needed institutional support. 

Out of the institutions who expressed interest for support during the CaBERA project, a maximum 

of four (two from Ghana and two from the sub region) will be selected to benefit from this grant. 

The grant will also be used to sustain the two Universities who benefitted from the earlier CaBERA 

I project. To this end, one senior Administrator from one of the selected Universities will join the 

two Grant Administrators from Noguchi to receive a two-week in-house training at Yale OSP and 

on their return, train other staff to establish or revamp their research management offices.

Specific Aim 1: Expand on the success of the CaBERA project to include other Institutions in the

sub region and assist them revamp their research management offices.

A maximum of four institutions will be selected out of those who expressed interest for support 

and will be assisted in establishing a fully-functional research administration office. Support will 

be provided in terms of assisting in the recruitment of research management staff; including the 

development of job descriptions, advertisements for positions, interviews; registration for SAM, 

DUNS, NCAGE and other registration requirements of funding agencies; compilation of portfolio 

of research faculty; identification of research interests and expertise of faculty for dissemination 

of funding opportunities; registration of fellows in eRA commons system; establishing an 

Institutional Review Board for each institution to facilitate compliance with ethics guidelines.

Specific Aim 2: Provide training and capacity building services to staff of the selected research 

management offices

The training modules developed during the CaBERA I project will be used to train staff of the 

research support office and research faculty members of the selected institutions. A needs 

assessment will be conducted to inform on the shortfalls of each institute. Training module will 

include training of newly recruited staff; identifying of grant opportunities, review of proposal, preaward services, budgeting, submission of grants, post-award services, general grants 

management processes; training of research faculty, policies/regulation of donor agencies, 

navigation of eRA commons interface, steps to grant writing, reporting and publication.

Specific Aim 3: Serve as a resource hub for grant management and sustainability to Institutions 

in the sub region.

Experience and knowledge gained from this project and the previous CaBERA will serve as a 

resource hub to Institutions in the sub region. The CaBERA team will therefore be as a point of 

call for research management troubleshooting. The team will assist with issues relating internal 

policy development, reviewing of funding opportunity and developing award-winning proposal, 

periodic training to newly recruited staff, establishing links with international agencies.

Specific Aim 4: Sustain and support the two Universities from the CaBERA I project to submit at 

least one competitive grant each within the period of the grant
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Research Strategy

Support from this grant will be used to pay a working visit to the two universities supported under 

the CaBERA I project (UDS and UMaT) to evaluate their achievements. A refresher grants 

submission workshop will be organized for faculty members; the structure of which will be based 

on the outcome of the evaluation.

INNOVATION

Africa is still plagued with several poverty-related tropical diseases and efforts to control them 

have met with limited success despite advances in science, technology, and understanding of 

the diseases and communities. The continent however still lacks the critical mass of scientists 

required to conduct both basic and applied research to guide control/intervention strategies of 

endemic infectious diseases. A major contributory factor is the inability to attract research 

funding to the continent. Although the global expenditure for health research has increased 

tremendously as a result of the existence of many more actors engaged in funding, only a small 

proportion goes to address poverty-related diseases that are endemic in developing countries in 

sub-Saharan Africa. The main important reason for this discrepancy however, is also the lack of 

highly qualified personnel that could competitively attract these funds (The 10/90 Reports, 

www.globalforumhealth.org).

Health research plays a major role in the development of low-income and middle-income 

countries (LMICs), with many initiatives contributing to capacity strengthening of health research 

in sub-Saharan Africa. Nonetheless, there remain challenges for sub-Saharan African countries 

to establish frameworks for sustainable research capacity strengthening. The African-led 

initiative – the Initiative to Strengthen Health Research Capacity in Africa (ISHReCA) – identified 

nine key requirements to strengthening health-research capacity in Africa. These requirements 

are grouped in three over-arching components namely; improving the environment; supporting 

both institutions and individuals for research. The requirements to support individuals are 

reflected through; the promotion of secondary- and tertiary-school science education; creation of 

career pathways, development of critical mass, and recruiting and retaining talented scientists; 

and supporting senior scientists to act as research leaders and role models.

Effort to control diseases of poverty have met with limited success and one of the limitations in 

part has been due to lack of capacity and infrastructure for research management in disease 

endemic African countries. Efforts on technology transfer and introduction of new interventions 

require the know-how and capacity and the conventional approach to capacity building for 

research in these countries have has focused exclusively on academic training for young 

researchers and students. The universities have been successful in increasing the number of 

PhD holders on the continent several fold in the past three decades. There are those who have 

also acquired requisite experiences during their training and are engaged in research.

However, the roles these investigators could play in the research efforts are limited because of 

the lack of funding due to the absence supporting offices that are necessary for successful 

grants applications. There are several limitations that account for this in sub-Saharan African 

countries; infrastructure for good internet connectivity since most grant applications have to be 

submitted online, the support for compilation of supporting documents which can be a nightmare 

for individual researchers, without a dedicated office, research fund mismanagement, etc.

It was in cognizance of these limitations that led to the successful application to NIH to support 

CaBERA I and its achievements attest to the fact establishing a dedicated office for research 

support can address them. A case in point is the submission of a project titled “Strengthening 

the Liberia Health System through Improvements in Public Health Practices” for a grant 

to CDC by National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL). Liberia is a country that has
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Research Strategy

suffered from two prolonged civil wars from 1989 until 1997 and 1999 to 2005 during which 

almost all institutions and systems were destroyed and it is still recovering. The NPHIL 

requested and the successful submission of this grant in 2019 was largely due to the support 

provided by CaBERA I. It is evident that the approach outlined in this proposal will ensure a high 

level of successful grantsmanship assured by the establishment of ORS as core units within 

institutions to win grants to support the research in African tertiary institutions.

SIGNIFICANCE

The world Health Organization in a 2001 report, corroborated the relationship between poverty 

and disease and expounded the benefit of investing in health research in developing countries. 

Possible strategies proposed to help reduce the 90/10 divide included prioritizing funding for 

health research and also building capacities of research institutions in lower to middle income 

countries (LMICs).

After several efforts the inequalities in global health research capacity remains and to resolve it 

and other internationally-connected health issues, such as the recent outbreaks Ebola in West 

Africa and Zika in South America, it is imperative that efforts are made to build capacities in 

LMICs. Such efforts should include building sustainable scientific collaborations, strengthening 

capacities of LMICs institutions to successfully compete for research grants, among others. It is 

therefore imperative to have a more coherent approach to the above problem, which will promote 

sustainable and profitable use of research management structures, through capacity building, to 

enhance African Higher Education Institutions’ (HEI’s) drive to attract more external funding.

It is within the above context that the CABERA-II seeks to provide the much-needed capacity 

building and advocacy services for existing, new and potential research management units in 

African Higher Education Institutions. To ensure that African HEIs attain excellent standards in 

managing research, this application seeks to establish or strengthen and adequately equip the 

existing Research Support Office in the selected Institutions, to be an effective unit in charge of 

research administration, having oversight of the institution’s systems and processes for improved 

compliance and regulatory activities. For this grant, the three identified senior research 

administrators will be mentored in Yale to further expand the existing skill base to become 

trainers-of-trainees. This will ensure that key personnel are familiar with all the considerations 

related to grant administration. They will in turn offer training to the selected institutions to 

communicate funding agencies’ expectations for conducting and administering research to 

supporting staff and research scientists. They will also assist the institutions to develop policies 

to address both pre- and post-award services, including identification and dissemination of grant 

opportunities, coordination between the research support office and investigators to identify 

researchers that intend to submit applications, working with them to ensure compliance to all 

application requirements through prior reviews and then submission of the application. Ultimately, 

the applicant and the selected institutions will ensure that Principal Investigators understand their 

ultimate responsibility for assuring that every project is run according to the institute and sponsor 

requirements.

STAFF TRAINING PLAN
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Three senior Administrators including one each from the beneficiary Universities of CaBERA will 

receive training by shadowing at the Yale Office of Sponsored Projects for two weeks in the project 

period.

Proposed Training for CaBERA II Administrators at Yale

Mrs. Nana Oye Akuffo

Mrs. Akuffo is the Program Director (PD) for the project. She is the Research Development 

Officer/Coordinator for the Office of Sponsored Research and the Post-Doctoral Fellowship 

Program at the NMIMR. She has understudied with grants administrators at Yale University and 

the Office of Sponsored Research of the Morehouse School of Medicine. She also received a 

one-month in-house training at Yale OSP during the CaBERA project. She has also worked with 

Senior Members of the Institute in research development and implementation as well in the 

preparation and submission of final project reports to sponsors. She works with research trainees, 

students and staff in identifying training opportunities and involvement in research activities. She 

oversees the Institute’s projects funded by external agencies including the NIH, Wellcome Trust, 

and European Union. Due to her experience with the CaBERA project, she was awarded the 

maiden Research Administrators Mobility Program (RAMP) scholarship from Society of Research 

Administrators International (SRAI) in October 2018 at the SRAI meeting in Florida, USA.

Ms. Griselda Annan

Ms. Annan will work closely with Nana Oye Akuffo as her deputy. She is a Senior Research 

Administrative Personnel in the Office for Research Support and has worked closely with the 

Research Development Officer (RDO) since the inception of the ORS at NMIMR. She plays a key 

role in grants submission processes, tracking of submitted grants, coordination of project 

activities, post-award processes such as preparation and submission of progress reports, request 

for funds, compliance issues, etc. She has actively assisted NOA to effectively manage various 

projects including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship 

Program for five years and the awarded five-year NIH U19 grant titled Noguchi Institute Initiative 

for NTDs (NIINE). She has attended some international workshops and the knowledge acquired 

from these workshops equipped her to facilitate and organize two major workshops at NMIMR. 

She also attended the Yale In-house training program as part of the CaBERA I project and was a 

facilitator at Research Management Training Workshop. She is a key person in the training of 

newly recruited staff of the ORS including interns, national service personnel and contract staff. 

She is one of the longest serving staff of the ORS and has gained expertise over the years in 

grants management and training, which she will bring on board this initiative.

Training Plan for Selected Institutes

The budget period of eighteen months will be divided into three periods (six months in each 

period) for the training program.

Period one- A needs assessment test will be conducted for all (four) Institutions within the first 

six months of the project to identify essential gaps in the research administration processes, 

including registrations with funding agencies among others. This will be followed by required grant 

submission registrations such as DUNS No, NCAGE, eRA commons etc. It is envisaged that 

registrations will be completed within three weeks at each institution. Working with the institutional 

staff, job descriptions will be drafted for approval and used to recruit research support staff. A 

training in basic research management practices will then be organized. Compilation of research
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portfolio of faculty members will be done to assist in disseminating eligible grants to the 

appropriate faculty members.

Period Two- The next 2nd period of the project will involve providing Grants Management Manual 

for the ORS and other Institutional research related policies and SOPs. A customized training 

module will also be developed for research faculty members and the ORS staff. During this period, 

a working visit will be paid to the two Universities of CaBERA I, i.e. UDS and UMaT for forensic 

audits and to assist them apply for any identified competitive grants and to provide any 

administrative support they may require.

Period Three- The final period of the project will involve identification and dissemination of calls 

to the selected Institutions and submission of grant proposals. It is envisaged that each institution 

will submit at least one competitive grant. Based on a self-assessment evaluation of these 

training, the second and third quarter of Year 2 will be primarily to monitor and supervise the newly 

created research administration offices

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

This initiative is to assist selected institutions to establish and/or overhaul existing research 

management offices as a means to addressing the overarching issue of limited response to 

funding calls. At the end of the initiative, it is envisaged that the following outcomes will be met:

• Institutionalization of research management, development, administration structures in 

Institutes/Universities who have benefitted from CaBERA and CaBERA-II

• Training and Capacity Building in Research management, development, administration;

• Restructuring of research management/development/administration structures in the 

selected institutions

• Advocacy services to research management practitioners; and,

• Boost in grant submission and Increase in research capacity and portfolio

• Efficient and well-established research support office

• Established tangible accountability and reporting procedures

• Process to provide notification for funding opportunities to research faculty or staff

• Established links with external agencies

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROJECT

To ensure sustainability of the program in each of the selected Universities, a permanent 

Research Administrator will be recruited who will shadow the activities of the grantees from the 

initial stages of setting up the office. Periodic trainings will be held for staff of the research 

management office to ensure they are up-to-date on current research management practices.

One of the key elements of this program will be to assist the research faculty to identify eligible 

grants and submit them or collaborate with other eligible Institutions to submit grants. It is 

envisaged that training on grant writing and successful proposal will equip them and enhance 

their success rate. Financial sustainability is essential for the successful operation of the research 

management office. As such, the grantee will design programs and activities that meet the 

objectives of potential donors/sponsors and develop proposals to seek for funding from them.
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

11

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Research Strategy

ANNEX A- TIMELINE FOR EIGHTEEN MONTHS PROJECT PERIOD FOR THREE 

INSTITUTIONS

ACTIVITY FIRST SIX MONTHS NEXT SIX MONTHS LAST SIX MONTHS

 

Needs assessment

Registration for DUNS, SAM, eRA 

commons, Grants.gov, DANIDA, EDCTP

etc.

Compilation of research portfolio of faculty 

members

Outlining of administrative structures of 

office

 

Recruitment/Interview of ORS staff

Outlining job description of ORS staff 

(description of roles and responsibilities)

 

Customize training module for ORS staff

 

Provision of grants management manual 

for ORS

 

Preparation of grant policy statement

 

Training of ORS staff

 

Training of research faculty members

 

Identification and dissemination of calls

 

Submission of grant proposal
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information OMB Number: 0925-0001 and 0925-0002

Expiration Date: 03/31/2020

Are Human Subjects Involved ❍ Yes ● No

Is the Project Exempt from Federal regulations? ❍ Yes ❍ No

1 E ❏ 2 xemption Number ❏ ❏3 ❏4 ❏5 ❏6 ❏7 ❏8

Does the proposed research involve human specimens ❍ Yes ● No and/or data

Other Requested information

Tracking Number: GRANT12912877 Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-18-335 Received Date:

Page 42 2019-07-30T15:48:29.000-04:00
Contact PD/PI: Akuffo, Nana Oye

REFERENCE

Global Forum for Health Research & World Health Organization. (1999). The [Ten-ninety]10/90 

report on health research. Geneva : Global Forum for Health research.

Available at https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42213

References Cited

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