Page 27 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

GENERAL INFORMATION

approaches; and enable scientific exchanges across SAMRC and AMED sign
national and disciplinary boundaries to address Memorandum of Cooperation
fundamental biological problems.
In 2024, the SAMRC entered into a Memorandum
In 2024, HFSPO in collaboration with the SAMRC of Cooperation (MoC) with the Japan Agency for
and NRF held a HFSPO Masterclass: Grant writing Medical Research and Development (AMED). The
workshop at the NRF in Pretoria during 26-29 purpose of the MoC is to promote and support
November 2024. The aim was to prepare South cooperation between scientists in South Africa and
African scientists to apply for the HFSPO fellowships Japan related to medical research and development.
and grants in 2025. Some of the activities proposed under the framework
of this MoC include joint research projects conducted
The HFSPO Master Class brought together scientists by researchers from both countries, joint seminars,
interested in HFSPO for a special workshop offering workshops and other scientific meetings as well as
hands-on training in grant writing led by experienced personnel exchanges.
HFSPO reviewers with integration of examples of
HFSPO supported research projects, introductions AMED was established in 2015 as a funding
to HFSPO programs, and interactive live exchanges agency tasked with promoting medical research
with scientists in South Korea and India. and development and improving the environment
for research in Japan under their government’s
The workshop program included pre-meeting writing Healthcare Policy.
tasks for scientific abstracts which were assessed
remotely by the training team and discussed live In October 2024, a call for joint projects was
at the meeting hub. Onsite writing tasks included published on the topic, “Genomic Insights into the
individual writing tasks (public abstracts) and team Pathogenesis of Cancer and Infectious Diseases.”
efforts (drafting a research plan for a letter of intent). Proposals received under this call were screened
for eligibility and peer reviewed. The names of the
This call was open to early stage and established awardees will be announced in April 2025.
researchers working in the life sciences, as well as
Doctoral students/Postdoctoral fellows working on a
biological topic who want to embark on a novel and
frontier project focusing on the life sciences. A total
of 30 delegates from SA universities and science
councils participate in the workshop.

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