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Fellowship Site: Nanjing, China
The FICRS program is located at the
China Center for Disease
Control (China CDC) National Center for STD Control (NCSTD) in Nanjing, Jiangsu
Province, near Shanghai. NCSTD is the nation's leading center for the prevention
and control of STDs. NCSTD acts as a technically operating institution to be responsible
for national STD control programs. This organization oversees the prevention and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections in China and provides the technical
supports and capacity-building for regional and local activities.. The center
is part of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and a part of the China
CDC (Beijing). The center is also affiliated with Peking Union Medical College
(PUMC, the medical school of Tsinghua [Qinghua] University), one of China's premiere
medical universities and the university initiated eight-year medical program in
China. Equipped with extensive clinical, research and teaching facilities, the
NCSTD trains both masters and PhD students focused on STD epidemiology, laboratory
diagnostics and clinical research. NCSTD is an organization with a history
as rich and inspiring as modern China itself. NCSTD (formerly called the Central
Institute of Dermatology and Venereology) was established as a clinical and public
health institute under the Ministry of Health in 1954 and become a branch of the
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in 1957.
The organization played a central role in the national eradication of syphilis
and other STDs in the early 1960s, and of leprosy in the late 20th Century through
collective efforts with several generations of national and international experts,
including the late Dr. George Hatem, a University of North Carolina graduate and
a friend of Mao Zedong. NCSTD has extensive experience with international
collaboration and multi-disciplinary research, and is a World Health Organization
Collaborating Center for the Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
NCSTD receives research funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the World Health Organization, and many other international and national organizations.
The co-sponsor of FICRS in China is the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Institute for Global Health and Infectious
Disease. Dr. Myron Cohen, the Director of the Center, has worked extensively
in China. UNC faculty are internationally recognized for their work on STDs and
HIV, making the collaboration between NCSTD and UNC a perfect fit. UNC serves
as a home for an NIH STI Cooperative Research Center, an NIH STD Clinical Trials
Unit, an NIH Center for AIDS
Research, and NIH AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, and an NIH Center for HIV-AIDS
Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), an NIH Global Health Frameworks Program and many other
domestic and international research activities in infectious diseases. NCSTD
hosts clinical STD and dermatology physicians from across China, and provides
rigorous training for more than 50 graduate students annually for medical and
research careers. In addition to conducting dermatology and STD research, the
Institute runs large inpatient and outpatient clinics and is involved in policy
and guidelines development. NIH-funded clinical research includes the following
projects: - UNC
AITRP - The UNC AITRP funds training for researchers in the area of HIV/AIDS
prevention to conduct multi-disciplinary behavioral and biomedical research and
to strengthen the research capacity of institutions to address the AIDS epidemic.
(Grant Number: 5 D43 TW01039-08)
- Community Popular Opinion Leaders (C-POL)-based
HIV/STD prevention program. (Grant Number:3V10 MHO61513:04S1)
- China Integrated
Programs for Research on AIDS (China CIPRA). (Grant Number U19 AI51915-02)
- Partnership
for Social Science Research on HIV/AIDS in China. (NIH NICHD R24 HD056670-01)
- Studies
on acute and established HIV infections and syphilis infection among patients
attending STD clinics in Guangxi, China. (FHI FCO 84402)
- Studies on introduction
of rapid syphilis tests into antenatal care and outreach services of high risk
groups in China. (WHO OD/TS-08-00088)
- Molecular epidemiological study
of azithromycin-resistance in Treponema pallidum in China. (CID 0806)
The
Nanjing NCSTD has its brother center, National Center for Leprosy Control (NCLEP),
under the same management structure. NCLEP is responsible for the detection and
control of leprosy, which remains active in parts of China, especially rural villages
in Guizhou province. Our trainees have the opportunity to travel to these villages
to visit with patients and take part in medical and public health activities.
Although not related to HIV/STD research, many trainees find this a highlight
of their Nanjing experience. FICRS Scholars have worked on the forefront
of NCSTD's efforts on documenting and combating the return and exponential rise
of STDs in China amidst the country's growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Equally compelling
are the climbing rates of syphilis and congenital syphilis, which have grave implications
for China's One Child Policy. Epidemiological, laboratory, behavioral and policy
research and strategies are being undertaken by NCSTD to address the synergism
of STDs and HIV in China. In addition to carrying out individual and teamed
research projects, Scholars are strongly encouraged to participate at the Institute's
inpatient rounds, outpatient STD and dermatology clinics, and travel with the
Institute's plastic surgeons to leprosy communities. These activities supply the
Scholar with a well-rounded and in-depth understanding of disease burden and health
care in China. Papers from NCSTD-UNC Trainees:
Tucker JD, Henderson GE, Wang TF, Huang Y, Parish W, Pan S, Chen XS, Cohen MS.
Surplus men, sex work, and the spread of HIV in China. AIDS 2005; 19(6): 539-547. Lin
CC, Gao X, Chen XS, Chen Q, Cohen MS. China's syphilis epidemic: a systematic
review of seroprevalence studies." Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2006. 33 (12):726-36. Wong
SP, Yin YP, Gao X, Wei WH, Shi MQ, Huang PY, Wang H, Chen Q, Liu M, Tucker JD,
Chen XS, Cohen MS. Risk of syphilis in STI clinic patients: a cross-sectional
study of 11,500 cases in Guangxi, China. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2007;
83(5):351-6 Chen ZQ, Zhang GC, Gong XD, Lin C, GAO X, Liang GJ, Yue XL,
Chen XC, Cohen MS. "Syphilis returns to China: results of the national surveillance
program from the Chinese Center for STD Control, Nanjing, China" Lancet, 2007;
369(9556):132-8 Chen XS, Yin YP, Tucker JD, Gao X, Cheng F, Wang TF, Wang
HC, Huang PY, Cohen MS. Detection of acute and established HIV infections in sexually
transmitted disease clinics in Guangxi, China: implications for screening and
prevention of HIV infection. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2007; 196(11):1654-61. Yin
YP, Chen XS, Wang HC, Shi MQ, Wei WH, Zhu BY, Yu YH, Tucker JD, Cohen MS. Detection
of acute HIV infections among sexually transmitted disease clinic patients: practice
in Guangxi Autonomous Region in China. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2008 (in
press). Additional Suggested Reading: Cohen MS,
Henderson GE, Hamilton H, Aiello P, Zheng H, Brandt A. "Eradication of syphilis
in China—Lessons for the 20th century?" Journal of Infectious Disease. 174:
S223-230, 1996. Cohen MS, Ping G, Fox K, Henderson G. "Sexually transmitted
diseases in the People's Republic of China in Y2K: Back to the future." Sex Transmitted
Diseases. 27(3):143-5, 2000. Ministry of Health, People's Republic of China,
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, World Health Organization. 2005 "Update
on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Response in China." January 2006. Housing
Availability:
Scholars can choose to live in housing provided by
the Institute or off-campus (for approximately $250/month). The Institute is located
near the base of Purple Mountain, a popular destination for Chinese climbers and
hikers. The site provides a bicycle for transportation and is conveniently located
on major public transportation lines to Nanjing's city center (a 15-minute bus
ride away). A typical housing arrangement at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in the
city center costs approximately $600/month and includes wireless internet access,
a small kitchen and digital television. This is within walking distance of the
main campus of Nanjing University, and the NCSTD is easily accessible by bicycle,
bus, subway or taxi. Health Issues and Immunizations Needed for this
Site:
For any health related issues, scholars have access to an international
SOS clinic in Nanjing as well as a variety of large, affordable general and specialty
Chinese-run hospitals. Additional medical care options are available in Shanghai.
Scholars may also obtain an individual med-evac insurance policy that covers helicopter
evacuation in the event of medical emergency. Immunizations (CDC guidelines):
Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, typhoid, Japanese Encephalitis. Scholars are also advised
to take malaria prophylaxis (atovaquone/proguanil) while in rural Guangxi province.
See the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention Web site and The
Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel. The FICRS
program mandates that all Scholars see a physician prior to their assignment abroad.
The site will require a formal letter from your physician stating that you have
received the necessary immunizations prior to the start of your fellowship. Safety
and Danger Issues:
Nanjing is a safe city both by national and
international standards. The NCSTD site is guarded 24 hours a day. It is also
within minutes of two local police stations. The Scholar is required to report
to local police station for temporal residence. Most housing options are located
within 24-hour gated communities. Scholars can move about the city unescorted
day or night, and no incidents of crime reported by US or foreign scholars. Scholars
may address any concerns at the US consulate in Shanghai (less than two hours
by train). Public attitudes towards American citizens are currently positive,
and Chinese citizens generally go out of their way to help foreign visitors. See
the U.S. State
Department Web site for information. Language Requirements Other
than English:
Chinese (Mandarin). We require trainees to have fundamental
language training and expect them to undergo additional language training at Nanjing
University. Advanced language training is a key part of the UNC-Nanjing
Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars (FICRS) Program. To that end,
we have developed a collaborative relationship with Nanjing University, where
our Scholars can take advanced courses in Chinese. Our trainees utilize the resources
of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies (http://www.sais-jhu.edu/Nanjing/),
which is jointly administered by Nanjing University and The Johns Hopkins University
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). SAIS hosts a number
of public lectures and training sessions in Nanjing available to FICRS Scholars
and Fellows. What is it like to live in China?
China is one
of the world's greatest civilizations, rich with more than 5,000 years of history.
As the world's fourth largest country and the home to 53 ethnic minorities, China
is abundant with places to explore. Scholars will have the unique opportunity
to experience China's many deep cultural traditions, such as the Moon Festival
and Lunar New Year, and at the same time, take part in the dramatic social, economic,
and political changes of modern China. |
