About the Consortium MARCAD

The Malaria Research Capacity Development (MARCAD) Consortium is a network of African research institutions launched in 2015 to support collaborative research led by Africa-based scientists. MARCAD aims to train a core group of African scientists in West and Central Africa, equipping them to provide relevant solutions for malaria control and elimination, ultimately contributing to health improvements across the continent.

The Consortium is managed by a Steering Committee, supported by a Research Committee and an Advisory Board. MARCAD is committed to supporting women and conducting high-quality research that translates into policy and practice. MARCAD Consortium fellows (Postdoctoral, PhD students, and master’s students) are integrated into established research teams led by senior scientists within participating institutions, fostering a stimulating research environment. Strong mentorship from leading scientists is provided to ensure their professional growth and success.

MARCAD I

The first phase, MARCAD I, was implemented through the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa (DELTAS Africa I) program, supported by the African Academy of Sciences in partnership with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and with the support of Wellcome and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

MARCAD I’s achievements include strengthened research capacities, as well as the training and mentorship of PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and senior researchers.

The programme focused on the main malaria research areas covered by the programme: parasite & vector resistance, immunology and molecular biology, climate change with new epidemiology profile, interruption of transmission, changing behaviors, social sciences.

MARCAD I included five (5) institutions: University Cheikh Anta Diop UCAD, Senegal (lead institution of the consortium); University of Sciences Technics and Technology of Bamako (USTTB), Mali; MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRCG), The Gambia; University of Yaoundé 1 (UoY 1), Cameroon and University of Health & Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ghana.

Additionally, three European institutions collaborated in the programme:London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK; University of Copenhagen (UoC), Denmark

MARCAD Plus
MARCAD Plus is the second phase of the MARCAD programme. It is sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), working in partnership with the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA). As in the first phase, MARCAD Plus focuses on a capacity-building programme for Master's, PhD, and Postdoctoral researchers in the thematic areas of malaria control and elimination, as well as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), specifically Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths, in West and Central Africa.

Like the first phase, MARCAD Plus is coordinated by Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar, Senegal. This second phase includes seven African institutions: the five institutions from the first phase, along with two new partners—The Bandim Project of the Institute of Public Health, Guinea-Bissau, and the College of Medicine & Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone.

Other African, European, and American research institutions and universities also collaborate with the consortium, including the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in the UK, the University of Copenhagen (UoC) in Denmark, the Tulane University in US, the National Centre of Parasitology, Mc Gill University, Canada.