MIM workshop to help researchers build data management skills—and reap the benefits

WWARN Published Date

Seeking to support data management skills development among early- to mid-career malaria researchers, WWARN will host a free practical workshop in April at the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) 2018 meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

The Workshop, entitled “Supporting malaria clinical trials: Data standardisation and the WWARN Toolkit of resources,” will explore the benefits of standardising data and the tools WWARN created to help researchers collect and curate high-quality data. WWARN ran similar sessions last year during conferences hosted by the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The workshop will take place on Sunday 15 April 2018, from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. For more information or if you are interested in attending, see details below.

“We are trying to get more people to realise that they can do much more with their malaria clinical trials data than they may have otherwise considered, such as conduct analyses that can increase the local, regional and global impact of initial findings,” said Dr Clifford Banda, a TDR Clinical Research and Development Fellow at WWARN, who will co-facilitate the workshops. “More importantly, having the right resources and skills to generate good quality data is a key aspect and will largely be the focus of this workshop.”

The workshop will address different approaches to data standards and research outputs that can result from standardised data. It will also include in-depth discussion of available tools for researchers, including those from the WWARN Toolkit, and solicit feedback on participants’ needs and priority areas of work.

“This is a great opportunity for researchers or data managers who might have less experience in data standardisation, but are interested in doing more,” said WWARN Senior Scientist, Dr Georgina Humphreys. “We would like to share our experiences so that others can learn from them and in turn tell us what they need.” 

To attend: Please indicate your interest in attending this workshop by emailing barney.mcmanigal@wwarn.org as soon as possible. We will confirm places for relevant participants on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The workshops are intended for early- to mid-career researchers and other clinical trial specialists who work in malaria endemic countries or are aiming to. There is funding available to cover meals on the day and a per diem equivalent of one night of accommodation. All participants must be registered at the MIM 2018 conference to attend.