The Fogarty AIDS International Training Research Program (AITRP)

John Idoko, M.B.B.S

Dr. John Idoko, Professor at Jos University Teaching Hospital and Director of the Anti-retroviral Committee for Nigeria, was the first senior level scientist to participate in our Fogarty AITRP Scholars Program.

Dr. Idoko's training gave him the opportunity to interact with our clinical research staff and observe patient care approaches here at the IHV clinics. He was able to meet with IHV leadership to discuss implementation of ARV therapy under the Global AIDS Program as part of a recently awarded grant from the Centers for Disease Control.

During his training he developed a national protocol to evaluate the response to ARV therapy among the 8000 persons in Nigeria who have received a standard government regimen. This protocol will be used by the Nigerian Ministry of Health to determine response rates and frequency of resistance in order for the Government to make strategic decisions concerning HIV therapy recommendations.

Based on discussions that began during his Fogarty training, Dr. Idoko was awarded a subcontract from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Prevention in Nigeria (APIN) Project to provide an operational assessment of the effectiveness of the current HIV therapy regimen being employed in Nigeria and will include training in molecular techniques for viral load and resistance testing.