UMSON's Njie-Carr Awarded More Than $1 Million in Funding from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health

Funding supports research that seeks to strengthen capacity in health research ethics and methodology in The Gambia.

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Veronica P.S. Njie-Carr, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FWACN, associate professor, has been awarded more than $1.18 million from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the five-year project “Strengthening Capacity in Health Research Ethics and Methodology in The Gambia.”

Njie-Carr will work with collaborators in The Gambia and will serve as co-principal investigator with Henry Silverman, MD, MA, professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Jainaba Sey-Sawo, PhD, University of The Gambia (UTG). The principal investigators are also working with co-investigators Thomas Senghore, PhD, UTG, and Effua Usuf, MD, PhD, Medical Research Council, Gambia Unit (MRCG).

Transformational changes in The Gambia have stimulated growth in several sectors with opportunities to implement and conduct research in academic, research, and health care institutions. As such, a need has emerged for ethics review committees to enhance research ethics and research methods capacity. Through their project, the co-PIs will collaborate with faculty from UTG and MRCG to extend the efforts of the University of Maryland, Baltimore President’s Global Impact Fund (PGIF) to develop a Research Ethics and Methods Certificate Program in The Gambia as a foundation for subsequent expansion to a master’s program.

The UMB PGIF seed grant supported the beginning work on capacity development efforts in The Gambia. The Fogarty Award will fund tuition and fees for trainees in the certificate and master’s programs in addition to professional development activities and formal mentoring. The Fogarty Award investigators will serve as faculty, educating others to ensure sustainability by Gambian expertise and leadership.

“It is wonderful to see Dr. Njie-Carr’s excellence and hard work recognized with such an important award,” said Erika Friedmann, PhD, professor and associate dean for research, UMSON. “She was one of the first recipients of the School of Nursing’s Dean’s Research Scholars Award. Her work demonstrates the School’s contribution to the global health impact characterized in the University’s strategic plan. This award highlights UMSON’s contribution to enhancing health care and research capacity in communities worldwide with bidirectional transfer of best practices.” 

Njie-Carr, a member of the Gambian diaspora, is committed to strengthening academic nurse and clinical nurse leadership capacity and preparing the next generation of academic leaders through collaborative initiatives that engage UTG nursing faculty. She teaches, mentors, and supervises academic faculty, nurse leaders, and graduate nursing students in the Department of Nursing at the UTG, where she serves as a consultant on curricula and research-related activities.

Njie-Carr’s interest in supporting the next generation of academic scholars led to her work in building capacity in low- to middle-income countries, where she has a strong track record of developing, implementing, and evaluating education and research programs.

 “We are thrilled to receive the Fogarty Grant Award and look forward to the implementation work ahead,” Njie-Carr said. “Gambian health professionals and academics will undoubtedly benefit from the Fogarty Award as the country strengthens its research enterprise and capacity development efforts.”

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling more than 2,100 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.