ILRI PhD Graduate Fellowship: Antimicrobial Drug Quality and Supply Chains

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a PhD graduate fellow to work on antimicrobial drug quality and supply chains. The successful fellow will be hosted under the CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, led by ILRI.

ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices in East, South and Southern Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

The CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, applies a One Health approach to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries to mitigate agriculture-associated antimicrobial resistance risks. The Hub supports the development of evidence-based interventions that are locally relevant and applicable. Research on how to best implement and scale workable solutions is embedded in capacity development activities and supported through advocacy for enabling policies. The hub contributes to ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program and leads the antimicrobial resistance component of the One Health Research, Education and Outreach Centre for Africa https://www.ilri.org/research/facilities/amr-hub.

About the position

Antimicrobials are essential medicines for human and animal health and welfare. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens global public and animal health, as well as economic and food security with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) being disproportionately affected.  Both the World Health Organization and World Organization for Animal Health have developed a prioritized list of critically important antimicrobials for human and veterinary medicine, respectively. This ranking allows for focused management of specific antimicrobial classes to preserve their efficacy and to reduce the use of critically important human antimicrobials in food animals and crops. Colistin is considered one of the last resort drugs to treat infections with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, but this antibiotic is commonly used in livestock production for prophylaxis and growth promotion in LMICs.

Recent studies have estimated that more than half of the antimicrobials available on the African market are either substandard or counterfeit, raising concerns about ineffective treatment and exposure to sub‐therapeutic levels of antimicrobials, which has been shown to promote resistance amongst bacteria. Moreover, antimicrobials are distributed and accessed through informal, non-regulated supply chains, affecting traceability of these sub-standard drugs. To fill key knowledge gaps, this PhD will investigate the quality of selected antimicrobials sold in veterinary drugs stores in at least priority One CG One Health countries (e.g., Kenya, Bangladesh or Uganda), investigate policies and regulations governing importation, labelling and distribution of antimicrobials, and assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of various stakeholders in the antimicrobial supply chain. To answer these research questions, the candidate will use a combination of field epidemiology and laboratory techniques.

Responsibilities of the fellow:

  • Conduct a literature review on antimicrobial drug quality in LMICs.
  • Map the policy landscape around importation, labelling, distribution, and sale of veterinary antimicrobials in two priority LMICs.
  • Design a field and laboratory study to analyze the quality of selected antimicrobials sold for veterinary use.
  • Conduct a survey on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of key stakeholders in the antimicrobial supply chain e.g., government officials, agrovet dealers, farmers, etc.
  • Investigate if changes to antibiotic labelling influences customer purchasing habits.
  • Write scientific papers and conference presentations on the results from the PhD studies
  • Communicate findings to relevant stakeholders (government, extension officers, farmers, etc.)
  • Provide supervision and guidance to field support staff and research assistants.

Minimum requirements for the ideal candidate

  • MSc in Agricultural Economics, Veterinary Science, Animal Science, or Veterinary Public Health.
  • An understanding of pharmacology, antimicrobial resistance, veterinary systems is advantageous.
  • Previous research experience in intervention trials, economic evaluation and qualitative research methodologies is desirable.
  • Experience in handling diverse datasets, data processing and statistical software such as R, Stata, SPSS, Matlab or Python.
  • Ability to jointly work in a multi-national, multi-disciplinary team of scientists and technicians.
  • Ability to supervise and guide research assistants and junior graduate students e.g., Bachelor or Masters level.
  • Excellent communication skills.
  • Based in Kenya full-time throughout the PhD programme with short research stays at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Location: ILRI – Kenya, with frequent in-country field travel and some travel abroad for fulfilment of PhD requirements at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Duration: 3 Years

Terms of appointment and stipend: ILRI will offer a competitive stipend to cover living expenses, medical insurance cover, air ticket, and meet research expenses. The successful candidate will be supervised jointly by an ILRI scientist and the university/academic supervisor at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

How to apply:

All applications MUST include the following (applications not containing these documents will not be considered):

  • A cover letter addressed to the Head of Capacity Development, ILRI expressing their interest in the fellowship position and what they can bring to the fellowship. The position title and reference number REF: GF/ILRI/AHH-AMR HUB/01/2022 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the cover letter.
  • CV including names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience.
  • Copies of academic qualification certificates/transcripts.

Applications must be submitted on or before 5 May 2022.

We thank all applicants for their interest in working for ILRI. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training). ILRI also does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

To find out more about ILRI fellowships and application visit the website at https://www.ilri.org/jobs

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