TITANS Program Overview
The Training on ImplemenTAtioN and team Science for NCD Control (TITANS) program will strengthen the capacity within and between Addis Ababa University and Bahir Dar University to conduct multidisciplinary implementation research to address NCDs.
TITANS will bring together teams of researchers from nursing, medicine, and public health to design, implement, and evaluate interventions to address NCD prevention and management. The program will provide extensive mentorship for participants in both implementation research and team science. The program goal is to promote multi-disciplinary, team-based, implementation research that reduces NCD burden in Ethiopia.
Program Leadership
The TITANS program has assembled a world-class, diverse, and interdisciplinary Executive Committee and program faculty.
Our program faculty consists of subject matter and methodological experts with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, basic sciences, epidemiology, qualitative methods, behavioral sciences, and management. Faculty will participate in the program in three different capacities: mentors, collaborating sponsors, and teaching faculty.
Fekadu Aga
Fekadu Aga is the current Dean and an Associate Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Addis Ababa University. His research work focuses on improving self-care behaviors and outcomes for persons with type 2 diabetes and comorbid chronic conditions.
Ashagre Molla Assaye
Ashagre Molla Assaye is currently working being Associate Professor of Nursing at College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University. He is also working being Chief Administrative and Business Development director of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University. He is interested in health systems strengthening, patient safety, quality of care, and health workforce development. He studied Bachelor of Nursing and Masters’ in Adult Health Nursing at Jimma University (Ethiopia), and his PhD at the University of Adelaide (Australia).
Rebecca Gary
Rebecca Gary utilizes a biobehavioral approach to design interventions that examine the effects of various exercise strategies on the underlying mechanisms that contribute to worsening symptom severity, physical function, cognitive decline, and poor quality of life across chronic conditions including advanced cardiovascular disease, HIV and cancer.
Saria Hassan
Saria Hassan is an Assistant Professor at the Emory School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health. She is a physician and implementation scientist who focuses on addressing the needs of persons living with non-communicable diseases in the setting of climate-induced disasters globally.
Elizabeth Rhodes
Elizabeth Rhodes is an implementation scientist who works with community and clinical partners to co-design and evaluate interventions to improve maternal-child health and nutrition and prevent NCDs. Current projects focus on testing care models for promoting maternal cardiometabolic and mental health, scaling breastfeeding services, and optimizing produce prescription program delivery.
Leslie Johnson
Dr. Leslie Johnson is an implementation scientist with expertise in participatory health research approaches and applying qualitative methods to examine health system challenges. Her work focuses on the adaptation and evaluation of integrated chronic care models for people with physical and mental health co-morbidities and addresses gaps in postpartum care.
Mohammed K. ALI MD, MSC, MBA
Dr. Ali is the William H. Foege Distinguished Professor of Global Health, Co-Director of the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center, and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University. His work focuses on the epidemiology and quality of care as they relate to diabetes and cardiovascular health, and implementing and evaluating practices, programs, and policies that promote better detection, prevention, and management of these conditions.He has served as a scientific advisor for the Division of Diabetes at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2010 and has led or contributed to reports from the World Health Organization, World Bank, and National Academy of Medicine.
Abebe Gebremariam Gobezayehu
Dr. Gobezayehu, an assistant research professor at a nursing school and Emory’s Ethiopia country representative, directs management and technical strategies for various projects. He specializes in strengthening health systems, focusing on capacity building, Collaborative Quality Improvement, and community mobilization for maternal, newborn, and child health, and nutrition. His expertise lies in addressing implementation factors, processes, and outcomes, integrating innovative solutions into health systems while emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement. He earned his MD and Pediatrics Specialty from Addis Ababa University.
Animut Tadele Dagnaw
Dr. Dagnaw is an assistant Professor of English at Bahir Dar University, contributing to the academic and intellectual development of students. His role involves conducting lectures, facilitating discussions and training, and guiding students in their studies, research, and community services. He also holds the position of Director of Information and Strategic Communication at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University. He actively contributed to the development and success of both the English department and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Bahir Dar University. Overall, he has contributed much to the students and Bahir Dar University.
Participating Institutions
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia USA (https://www.sph.emory.edu) is recognized as one of the nation’s leading research universities. The Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University is ranked fifth among public health graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report (2020). Located in Atlanta, GA, the “Public Health Capital of the World,” RSPH is in close proximity to the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as numerous international, state and regional health agencies and non-governmental organizations.
Addis Ababa University (AAU), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (http://www.aau.edu.et), was established in 1950 as the University College of Addis Ababa (UCAA) and is the oldest and the largest higher learning and research institution in Ethiopia. Since its inception, the University has been a leading center in teaching-learning, research and community service. AAU has 10 colleges, 4 institutes that run both teaching and research, and 6 research institutes, and strives to be responsive to the fast-changing national and international educational landscapes.
Established in 2008 as one of the fifteen academic units of Bahir Dar University, (https://bdu.edu.et/) the College of Medicine and Health Sciences currently has three schools namely the School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, and School of Public Health, and serves over 2400 students with 595 academic staff in 50 distinct academic programs from undergrads to PhDs and from Doctor of Medicine to Fellowship. Additionally, the college has Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and two research centers: Tana Research and Diagnostic Center and Mecha Demographic Surveillance and Field Research Center.
Acknowledgments
The TITANS Program is a collaboration between Emory University, Addis Ababa University (AAU), and Bahir Dar University (BDU). The TITANS program is supported by grant #D43TW012459 from the Fogarty International Center of the US National Institutes of Health.