The importance of research in the MEPI program: perspectives from the National Institutes of Health.

The Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), which aims to strengthen and transform education in medicine and the health sciences in Africa, has placed special emphasis on including research as part of new curricula. The great progress achieved against HIV/AIDS globally has been based in part on major research conducted by African investigators working in African institutions at African field sites in collaboration with international partners. This experience demonstrates the key role of academic institutions in generating knowledge while training the next generation of health professionals. Research is a key driver of innovation in the health sciences, and it can spur global collaborations, build substantial financial support, empower scientific leadership, and promote economic development. Through MEPI, young investigators are becoming engaged in research training early in their careers with projects that develop research skills to help them better understand how to evaluate and integrate new evidence into policy and practice, advance the science of health within their countries, and strengthen the academic institutions in which they work. Research training is an essential component of MEPI and should endure long after the program ends. It may help build a critical mass of researchers as well as a cadre of health professionals, teachers, and leaders who will be better equipped to embrace the continually changing panorama of advances in the health sciences.