African Researchers Offered AI Drug Discovery Fellowships to Combat Infectious Diseases

A new fellowship program is inviting early-career African researchers to apply for a six-month mentorship and funding opportunity focused on leveraging open-source AI tools for drug discovery. The initiative aims to address the significant disparity between Africa's share of global scientific output and its disproportionately high burden of neglected tropical diseases and other infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.

The 'AI Incubator' program, offering a $10,000 fellowship, travel support, and bi-weekly mentoring, targets senior researchers or teams of up to four scientists based at academic or non-profit institutions within the WHO African Region. Participants must be actively using AI in existing drug discovery projects, specifically focusing on small molecules, including natural products, to combat infectious diseases.

This fellowship is designed to enhance scientific capacity and output on the continent by providing crucial resources for research. The funding covers essential expenses such as laptops, internet, conference fees, publication charges, reagents, and stipends. Significantly, teams retain full ownership of their data and research outcomes, operating under an agreement that references the African Union Data Policy Framework, ensuring local control and benefit from the intellectual property generated.