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Advancing Equitable Global Partnerships in Nutrition and HIV Research

Summary of the Award The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) award was a catalytic institutional investment that transformed the trajectory of my global health research program. Nested within the International AIDS Society–funded CIPHER study, the AAP award (RN100284; $100,000) supported a focused investigation of micronutrient deficiency—specifically vitamin D and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)—as modifiable determinants of functional outcomes among school-aged Ugandan children with and without perinatal HIV exposure or infection. This strategic expansion sharpened our hypotheses, deepened cross-continental partnerships, and laid the empirical foundation for a sustained, externally funded program spanning child development and aging with chronic HIV. Advancing Global Health and Nutrition Science The award enabled systematic measurement of nutritional biomarkers in the full cohort rather than a limited subsample. This strengthened statistical power and allowed us to determine whether micronutrient deficits compounded baseline impairments and influenced trajectories of cognitive, socioemotional, and quality-of-life outcomes over 12 months. Importantly, AAP funds supported comprehensive assessment of physiologic stress and detailed abstraction of antiretroviral therapy exposure histories—critical for disentangling nutritional, immunologic, and psychosocial influences on child development in HIV-affected settings. Our findings demonstrated that variation in vitamin D status and fatty acid profiles were biologically meaningful contributors to growth, executive function, and socioemotional adjustment. Nutrition emerged not as a background covariate but as a mechanistic driver of morbidity risk. In sub-Saharan Africa—where perinatal HIV exposure remains common and nutritional vulnerability persists—identifying modifiable micronutrient pathways has direct implications for scalable intervention strategies that complement antiretroviral therapy. The scientific impact extended beyond childhood. Signals observed in the AAP-supported analyses informed refined hypotheses regarding the vitamin D metabolome as a determinant of cognitive development and decline across the life course. This work directly supported successful NIH funding, including an R21 in adolescents (R21HD088169), extended longitudinal follow-up in children (R01NS122510), and a recent R01 in older adults (R01AG087191) with and without chronic HIV infection. Across these awards and supplements, more than $8.0 million in extramural support has been secured, all building on the mechanistic insights strengthened by the AAP investment. Together, these projects examine nutrition, immune dysregulation, microbiome variation, and neurocognitive outcomes within a unified framework of functional survival. Partnership and Collaboration Dynamics The AAP award was intentionally structured to deepen equitable partnership between Michigan State University and the Uganda Society for Health Scientists (USHS). By co-leading the nutrition-focused expansion with Ugandan collaborators, including Dr. Sarah Zalwango and Dr. Philippa Musoke, we ensured that research questions were locally relevant, operationally feasible, and mutually beneficial. The award supported dedicated in-country research personnel and reinforced long-standing cohort infrastructure, strengthening data quality and local capacity. This infrastructure proved especially critical during the turbulent global research policy environment of 2025. Because of the systems and trust built through AAP-supported collaboration, our team was positioned to absorb external shocks while maintaining continuity of data collection and scientific productivity. The partnership model fostered bidirectional learning and reinforced a sustainable framework for global research engagement. Within MSU, the award deepened collaboration across Nutrition, Epidemiology, Psychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Biostatistics. Engagement with colleagues such as Dr. Jenifer Fenton and multidisciplinary collaborators created synergy that directly contributed to subsequent NIH R21 and R01 successes. The integration of nutritional epidemiology with neuropsychology, immunology, and global mental health allowed us to move beyond siloed inquiry toward a biopsychosocial model of risk and resilience. Support for student training was another critical dimension of impact. AAP-supported data generated dissertation research for two PhD students focused on fatty acids, vitamin D, and neurodevelopment, and supported a postdoctoral fellow whose ongoing work extends our African partnership into microbiome and metabolomic investigation. These investments align with MSU’s land-grant mission and AAP’s commitment to sustainable, capacity-enhancing collaboration. Follow-Up Work and Field Advancement The momentum generated by the AAP award continues to shape our research trajectory. In children, the R01NS122510 study is developing and validating a composite risk index to identify adolescents at high risk for neurocognitive impairment, integrating nutritional, immunologic, and virologic predictors. In older adults, the R01AG087191 project examines vitamin D bioavailability, gut microbiota composition, and dementia risk among individuals aging with chronic HIV infection. Together, these studies represent a life-course continuum directly traceable to the original AAP-supported mechanistic inquiry. We are also translating these findings into intervention strategies. For children, we are designing biopsychosocial supportive care models that incorporate nutritional optimization alongside psychosocial stress mitigation. For adults, we are investigating modifiable determinants of premature cognitive aging—including micronutrient status and gut dysbiosis—with the goal of preventive intervention. Emerging data on variation in the vitamin D metabolome position our team to address critical gaps in understanding how vitamin D functions within mechanistic nutrition trials, further strengthening our competitive edge. In sum, the AAP award was more than seed funding; it was a strategic inflection point for my research program. It strengthened transcontinental collaboration, refined mechanistic hypotheses, expanded training pipelines, and positioned our team for sustained NIH funding success. By providing early support that led to our appreciation of consequential variations in vitamin D metabolome, this project has positioned us to continue advancing health globally and domestically with the United States. Specifically, clinical guidelines (Endocrine Society Clinical Practice guidelines and the United States Health and Preventive Task force) on vitamin D has recently been updated and the excitingly, these updates and emphasized knowledge gaps directly align with the innovative insight on vitamin D metabolome we observed as part of the AAP supported projects. There is no doubt that the scientific, collaborative, and translational ripple effects of this investment continue to shape our contribution to global health and nutrition science as we increasingly move towards interventions informed by them.

By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major

Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

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Celebrating The Role of Art and Creativity in Shaping Global Partnerships

Photo by: Cris Dopher. The arts represent the most imaginative and creative form of expression, integral to the civilizational progress of communities worldwide. In Uganda, an East African country where I originate, the arts are embodied and lived through music, dance, theatre, poetry, storytelling, folktales, and other forms of artistic engagement. The cultural, historical, social, and political meanings are etched in the art forms of the people. The arts are evolutionary and revolutionary, depicting the changes and continuities, and instigating shifts in the lived experiences of communities. The arts have demonstrated their value in fostering community transformation across histories and territories. In Africa, the role of the arts has evolved in tandem with sociocultural, political, and economic changes in communities. The arts have offered platforms to sensitize communities around ever-emerging challenges, such as disease, climate change, conflicts, forced migration, gender-based violence, poverty, and cultural differences, among others. The functions of the arts have transcended stage performances and entertainment. Communities have deployed their creative and artistic potential to explore local solutions to prevailing problems. Within international development discourse on Africa, there is talk about ‘Africa finding local solutions to African problems’. Arts-oriented interventions that communities have applied and sustained offer a rubric on how communities in Africa can develop and implement sustainable and cost-effective solutions to local challenges. The migratory and borderless natures of the creative arts, and their distinctiveness as a universal language, position them strategically to mediate differences, heal broken communities, quell tensions, and pluralize perspectives. The transnational and transcultural nature of the creative arts is evident in how they are constituted by cross-pollination of diverse cultural traditions, stories, and orthodoxies. The art forms are reinvented and reimagined at the intersection of other existing artistic practices. The aspect of embodiment that gives the arts their true meaning and essence centers people, as bearers of practices, meanings, and knowledge. The global flow of art forms stems from local innovations. The being of the global dimension of the creative arts is rooted in their local value. Art proliferates by diffusion. The notion of art being born of people’s imaginaries enables its adaptation, assimilation, transcendence, and permeation across localities and contexts. Across Africa, the Black Diaspora, and global indigeneity, the commonalities between the arts demonstrate their universal reach, underscoring histories of migration, cultural connections, and intercultural interfaces. Scholarship, practice, and research are media through which the arts have found expressions in transboundary contexts. In the realm of scholarship, collaborative research in the creative arts has increased, generating rich and diverse knowledge that has improved the human condition. The mobility of scholars and researchers between cultures and nationalities has augmented the exchange of expertise and circulation of artistic and cultural ideas and practices. My current tenure as an African Futures Fellow at Michigan State University under the auspices of the Alliance for African Fellowship (AAP) is testimony to how the creative arts and artists can support global partnerships through scholarship and research. As a dance studies scholar at Makerere University in Uganda, East Africa, the program has supported me to connect with scholars at MSU and the US; co-write articles for publications; present at conferences; collaborate on artistic works with communities; and partner with researchers on ideation, incubation, writing, and submission of research grant ideas. Such engagements have facilitated the convergence of ideas, cultures, and people. My story represents a myriad of scholars who are leveraging the scholarly prowess of the creative arts to dissolve boundaries and dismantle barriers. The arts have accelerated global partnerships through joint performances and collaborative creative processes. Worldwide, concerts, festivals, competitions, showcases, and productions have facilitated exchanges between artists, communities, artistic works, and audiences, and have supported the mobilization of resources through fundraising to care for those in need. The arts have been the heartbeat of globalization. Through exposure to different artistic forms, communities have peeked into cultures beyond their own. The creative arts carry a unique ability to communicate across generations, demographics, cultures, and geographies. Communities across the globe have united through the creative arts to draw attention to and amplify the voices of the oppressed. The emergence of innovative technologies and platforms has empowered creatives worldwide to access wider audiences and listenership. Technology has democratized access and consumption of creative artworks globally. For Africa, the innovative platforms have enabled people to tell their own stories and confront stereotypical views through artistic and cultural products. Global business collaborations have emerged, resulting from the potential for the creative arts to circulate as commercially valuable products. The creative arts possess inherent power to unite people across divides. As the world confronts challenges of conflicts, climate change, food insecurity, natural disasters, disease, social injustices, forced labour, and human trafficking, among others, the arts will continue to take center stage as strategic tools through which global communities can partner to find solutions to these problems. The creative arts have always been the heart that gives and receives.

By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major

Thursday, Dec 11, 2025

CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Shaping Global Partnerships Through Science, Technology, and Education

A Profile of Nizar Lajnef, MSU’s New Associate Dean for Research and International Partnerships. On August 16, Michigan State University (MSU) appointed Nizar Lajnef as the new Associate Dean for Research and International Partnerships of MSU’s International Studies and Programs (ISP). For Lajnef, the role represents both a return to his roots and an opportunity to shape MSU’s global engagement at a critical time. Originally from Tunisia, Lajnef first came to MSU as an international student. Having completed a USAID-funded master’s program in Tunisia in collaboration with Virginia Tech, he went on to pursue both his Master’s and PhD at Michigan State. That experience gave him a firsthand appreciation for the transformative power of international education—not only for students, but also for the global image of academia and the “soft impact” that collaboration brings to communities and societies. “Education,” he reflects, “is the first thing that should be an objective when you reach out and collaborate with people. It’s something very close to my heart.” Throughout his career, Lajnef has remained deeply connected to Africa. His research and professional engagements have taken him across the continent and beyond, with work spanning more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He sees this new role as a way to give back and to step up during what he calls “a very difficult time for international studies.” Rather than shy away, he views this moment as an opportunity to strengthen MSU’s global ties and make them more resilient. Lajnef brings with him extensive research experience and a record of success in securing external funding—close to $28 million over the course of his career. His expertise lies in areas at the forefront of global transformation, particularly the digital economy and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on developing countries. He believes these fields will shape the future of education, employment, and entrepreneurship, and sees enormous potential for Africa. “If I look at the number of startups in AI around the world,” he notes, “the U.S. and China dominate. In Africa, across more than 50 countries, there have been barely a dozen in the past five years. There’s a tremendous opportunity there, and it’s one of the strengths I want to bring to MSU’s global agenda.” At the heart of his vision is the commitment to equitable partnerships. MSU, he emphasizes, has a long history of meaningful collaborations with African institutions—relationships built not on one-sided aid or extractive research, but on mutual benefit, capacity building, and shared impact. He argues that the future of MSU-Africa collaborations lies in deepening these ties, ensuring that investments in research, infrastructure, and digital transformation deliver value both to African universities and communities as well as to MSU. Key areas of opportunity, he suggests, will include infrastructure development—such as telecommunications, transportation, and health systems—alongside the rapid digital transformation reshaping economies worldwide. Despite challenges in the political and funding environment, Lajnef remains confident about MSU’s path forward. He points to the university’s 65-year history of engagement with Africa as proof of its staying power. Funding models may evolve, but the mission endures. Private donors and foundations, he notes, remain committed to supporting MSU’s work on the continent. And just as importantly, the lessons learned abroad have direct applications at home in Michigan, where communities face many of the same challenges. For Lajnef, the way forward is clear: MSU must hold fast to its values, adapt as needed, and continue advancing its mission of global engagement. “We’re going to stick to our values,” he says firmly. “We have a strong history, we know what we are doing, and we’re going to keep doing it. Even if resources are limited or circumstances change, the good work that MSU has been doing for 65 years will continue.”

By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

EDUCATION

Universities’ key role in the future of global food systems

African academics say that partnerships and collective action across different sectors, including higher education and research, are needed to actualise the resolutions agreed upon at the United Nations Food Systems Summit held on 23 September in New York.“The common message and commitment to global partnership for collective action, and the urgency to address the climate change challenge, as well as other environmental hazards, resonates well with the commitments that emerged from several national and regional dialogues, including those facilitated by RUFORUM,” said Professor Adipala Ekwamu, executive secretary of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).The key issue, however, is the implementation of the agreed action points of the eight-month regional dialogues that preceded the summit, he said.For Africa, what is needed are efforts to revamp investments in various agriculture initiatives, and adequately invest in science, technology and innovation and in human capital development to elicit the necessary responses and change.Inclusivity“Africa must also engage more actively in harnessing digital technologies and its renewable energy resources. Above all, we will need to maintain focus on ensuring inclusivity in the different undertakings. Continued academia-science-policy interaction will help us leapfrog forward,” Ekwamu said.The UN event recognised the fact that food systems cannot thrive without all sectors working together as one; hence, the need to involve various sectors of government, and the need for interaction of “multiple scientific disciplines”, as well as traditional and indigenous knowledge.The summit also emphasised the need to scale up public and private financing for food production as well as science and research.According to Kay Muir-Leresche, retired professor of natural resource economics and member of the RUFORUM international advisory panel, the role of universities in the future of food systems “needs much greater emphasis – not as ivory towers but as the spigots that can play a central facilitating role”.She said she was disappointed by what she viewed as a lack of focus on implementation and adequate acknowledgement of the place of science and universities in implementing the resolutions.Fragmentation“I have to say that, in general, I am rather disappointed at the very fragmented response … a wide menu of disparate commitments that do not seem to focus on what is needed to make all these things work … building human capital to use new technologies to apply to solving the problems,” she said.In her view, the outcomes needed to have placed more emphasis on investment in the people and institutions that can help to achieve change, by building the capacity for science and the generation of knowledge, as well as in sharing it.“At the moment, it is just many promises to carry out particular things by many actors – not a concerted attempt to address the core problems,” she said, adding that the creation of knowledge by using new approaches that can reach all levels and involve all stakeholders was critical.Equally important was to build the capacity required to use knowledge generated by universities and research institutions for the agriculture sector. The “creation and sharing of knowledge [should be] integrated with building capacity”, she suggested.OperationalisationAccording to Dr Florence Nakayiwa, RUFORUM deputy executive secretary for planning, resource mobilisation and management, commitments made during the summit deserved appreciation and support. What was now required, however, were mechanisms to operationalise them.“We believe the summit process that garnered views from different stakeholders will hold countries and institutions accountable for the promises they made. We want to see a system where there is interface and coherence across the sectors in meeting the post-summit actions,” she said.She said local context was key to the success of the pledges, and decisions made at implementation stage needed to be evidence-based and recognise existing realities.“We should invest in and use the human capital that we have on the continent for sustainable initiatives,” she said.

Creating Sustainable U.S. - East Africa Partnerships for Disability Inclusion

Professional Fellows Alumni Webinar:Creating Sustainable U.S. - East Africa Partnerships for Disability InclusionThursday, May 27, 2021, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET Webinar Description: The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and Humanity & Inclusion (HI) invite you to join a Professional Fellows alumni webinar on how universities, DPOs, and other disability rights groups in the United States and East Africa can create independent, sustainable partnerships that promote inclusive employment and education in lasting ways. By interacting with a panel of U.S. outbound and Professional Fellows alumni, attendees will learn: How universities and disability rights leaders in East Africa can exchange inclusive practices and empower communities. How to create professional development opportunities and low-cost trainings that let disability professionals in the U.S. and East Africa learn from each other during the pandemic. How to build expertise in inclusive employment and education among teachers and service providers in East Africa remotely. Panelists: Dr. Martin Blair, Executive Director, University of Montana Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities Dr. Margo Izzo, Transition Services Director, The Ohio State University Nisonger Center Dr. Macdonald Metzger, Director of Outreach, Education, and Interdisciplinary Training, University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration Elizabeth Shiakamiri, Innovation to inclusion (i2i) Programme Manager, Leonard Cheshire, Nairobi, Kenya Bijal Lal, Founder and Special Educator, Tujumuishe Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Please Note: CART transcription will be available for all attendees. Please contact Siddarth Nagaraj (snagaraj@aucd.org) for any accommodations needs or general inquiries. There is no cost for this webinar. CEUs are not offered for this webinar. This webinar will be held on the Zoom Platform. You can test your connection with Zoom before joining the meeting here. This webinar will be archived.

By: Derek Tobias

Monday, Aug 16, 2021

EDUCATION

Results for "partnerships"