The competitive five-year renewal of Fogarty’s Malawian Program for Mental Health Research Training (WARMHEART), submitted by the Institute’s training partners at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), signals a bright outlook for mental health. Building on the strong track record of its first funding cycle, WARMHEART will continue to strengthen the collaboration between Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and UNC-Chapel Hill, and accelerate mental health research capacity across the lifespan in Malawi. Following are some program updates.
- Kazione Kulisewa (MHIRST D43 alum) will take over as the contact PI. Dr. Brad Gaynes will remain MPI.
- Trainees from the first cycle will assume leadership and training positions. James January, a postdoctoral trainee during the first cycle (also awarded a UJMT D43 fellowship, 2023-2024), is now co-investigator and mentor for the program. Michael Udedi and Charles Masulani were also both postdocs during the first cycle. They will participate as mentors and provide expert advice on: mental health integration, evidence-based task shifting mental health interventions, and didactic training on the translation of research into policy (Udedi); and suicide prevention strategies and private-public mental health partnerships models of care (Masulani).
- During the first cycle, the program trained 4 MMeds in Psychiatry and 6 postdoctoral (PhD) research fellows. In the new cycle, the program aims to train the same number. Postdoctoral fellowships will be three years in length. The MMed training continues to be four years. The program will release funding opportunity announcements for these positions soon.
Dr. Brad Gaynes speaking at a past Malawi Mental Health Symposium. - Trainee research has included a wide variety of projects in a spectrum of populations (both adult and adolescents). Research has included perinatal mental health, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and systems level implementation research. Program leadership looks forward to expanding the breadth of ongoing mental health research in Malawi.
- In September 2026, WARMHEART will host another Mental Health Conference in Malawi.
The WARMHEART training model emphasizes three complementary dimensions: depth (in-depth investment to create a core of skilled researchers and thought leaders), breadth (engagement of a wide range of stakeholders in mental health research), and reach (building links between research, policy, and practice to maximize impact of research). The program has a tremendous impact on mental health research in Malawi, creating an expert pool of young mental health researchers trained as leaders and able to collaborate with other disciplines and policymakers to address the role of psychiatric illness across the lifespan.