International Collaborating Partners 

University of Illinois at Chicago
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile 
Peking University Health Sciences Center
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
University of Malawi

United States
Judith A. Levy, PhD, AITRP Program Director 
Beverly McElmurry, EdD, RN, FAAN, AITRP Co-Director 

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) 
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) was founded in 1967 as a State University and a Land Grant Institution with the major mission of research, teaching and public service. The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the largest institution of higher learning in the Chicago area with approximately 25,000 students (approximately 65 percent undergraduate, 34 percent graduate and professional degree students) and 3,600 faculty. The UIC campus is comprised of more than seventy buildings on approximately 187 acres. It is located just west of Chicago’s downtown in an area that includes the West Side Medical Center District, the world’s largest concentration of advanced public and private health care facilities. UIC is one of the top seventy research universities in the United States. UIC offers more graduate study in dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health than any other health education institution in the nation. Research has a high priority within the university community. 

UIC School of Public Health
Established in 1971, the UIC School of Public Health (SPH) is the only institution of its kind in Illinois and one of only 23 such schools in the country. The SPH was fully accredited in 1985 by the Council on Education for Public Health, and provides curricula leading to four graduate degrees: Master of Public Health, Master of Science, Doctor of Public Health, and Doctor of Philosophy. The SPH also offers a combined MD-MPH program. Physicians in various preventive medicine and occupational medicine residency programs at the University of Illinois Hospital or Cook County Hospital can concurrently obtain MPH degrees from the UIC SPH. 

The SPH has over 80 faculty members. The faculty is multi-disciplinary and has extensive interactions with other UIC academic units. A number of other UIC academic units utilize SPH courses and faculty resources with health-related graduate-level degree programs. Examples include the teaching of epidemiology or biostatistics to medical students, public health nurses (in the College of Nursing), and community psychology students. Extensive collaboration in research and training occurs between UIC SPH researchers and researchers from several other UIC academic units such as the Department of Medical Education (DME) Medical Humanities Program and The Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center. These existing relationships, together with continuing collaborative relationships with the Illinois and Chicago Departments of Public Health and several important HIV-related community organizations provide a solid foundation for the community-based research. The UIC SPH has four divisions: Community Health Sciences, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and Health Policy and Administration. 

UIC College of Nursing 
The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing is a nationally recognized research institution, ranked 6th in the country and 6th by The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) for extramural awards to nursing schools in 1996. It is one of the 23 Colleges of Nursing nationally to be recognized by the NINR as having a research-intensive environment. The main College is located in downtown Chicago, with regional sites in Champaign-Urbana, the Quad Cities, Rockford, and Peoria. The College is organized into the Departments of Medical-Surgical Nursing; Maternal-Child Nursing; and Public Health, Mental Health, and Administrative Nursing. The College offers academic programs leading to BSN, MS, and PhD degrees. The College’s main building is in an 11-story structure, completed in 1969, which provides teaching-learning facilities, offices, and labs for faculty and students. 

The College offers both a generic baccalaureate program and a RN/BSN program for registered nurses. The goal of baccalaureate education in nursing at the College is to prepare generalists to function in a variety of settings. As one of the top ranked graduate programs in the country, the College fosters intellectual growth and professional excellence through a variety of graduate programs. The College of  Nursing through the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Chicago offers the Masters of Science in Nursing Sciences and the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Sciences degrees. The masters program prepares nurses for advanced practice roles as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners. A variety of concentrations are offered through the college’s three departments. Focusing on the development of independent nurse researchers, the PhD program emphasizes empirical research and theory development. 

Chile
Beverly McElmurry, EdD, RN, FAAN, UIC AITRP Program Coordinator for Chile
Rosina Cianelli, PhD, RN, UIC AITRP Country Coordinator for Chile

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, located in Santiago, has 11,000 students. This is one of the two research universities in Chile, and has the strongest university-level nursing program in the country. The School of Nursing is part of the Faculty of Medicine. 

The School of Nursing enrolls 100 new students a year. Currently, 550 students are in a five-year program leading to the title of Nurse Midwife/Professional Nurse. About 20 nurses or midwives are in a complementary undergraduate program to become a Nurse-Midwife. About 20 nurses are enrolled in a one-year specialization program, which offers 13 different areas of emphasis. 

All of its 49 faculty members are university-educated. The majority of them are nurses and Nurse-Midwives. Two of them hold a doctorate in nursing, 21 with Master’s degree from various disciplines, and the rest with clinical specialties. Currently, two of its faculty members are pursuing graduate degrees at UIC (one in the PhD program in the College of  Nursing and the other in the PhD Program in the School of Public Health). The faculty members have published many articles in professional journals of the region and are becoming more research-productive. Over the last 10 years, the Kellogg Foundation has made a major commitment to support the School to strengthen its educational and research activities. 

From 1983 to 1994, the School was privileged with Kellogg funded projects through which it has developed creative teaching-service integration strategies with the Catholic University Medical Center, and with the community health centers. Community based projects, which provide programs in areas of maternal child health, adults with chronic diseases, elderly, youth, lay health promoters, among others, have been implemented. These projects have had a positive impact on the undergraduate curriculum and have improved the quality of health care services. 

In 1990, the School of  Nursing, co-sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, established the Regional Collaborating Center in Nursing (CERCOBE) for the Regional Library of Medicine (BIREME/PAHO/WHO). The purpose of this project is to incorporate updated nursing literature in the LILACS database of the Regional Medical Library. CERCOBE has incorporated 1,000 nursing titles in LILACS and disseminates conventional (books and periodicals) and non-conventional (gray literature) nursing literature in Spanish to Latin and Central American countries. 

In addition, the School of Nursing created the Latin American Nursing Network (Red de Enfermería para América Latina: REAL) in 1991. Its purpose is to maximize the effort of Latin American nurses to improve nursing education and practice in the region. In 1993, Kellogg funded its implementation, including development and improvement of information systems, of distance learning programs, of nursing research and ethics, and of leadership. Since 1994 the REAL has specifically focused on (1) dissemination of information regarding the network to increase its membership, (2) development of database for nursing resources available in the southern cone countries, (3) promotion of legislative changes in the areas of health care and nursing, and (4) development of health promotion and prevention activities through nursing practice. 
 

China
Carol Christenson, PhD, RN, UIC AITRP Program Coordinator for China
Yuqi Zhao, PhD, UIC AITRP Country Coordinator for China

Peking University Health Science Center
Formed with the merger of Peking University and Beijing Medical University, the Peking University Health Science Center is one of China's largest and most esteemed medical centers. It is composed of the Graduate School, the School of Basic Medical Sciences, the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Stomatology, the Faculty of Advanced Nursing, and two teaching divisions (humanity and foreign languages). The university also has 6 affiliated hospitals, 8 teaching hospitals, 19 research institutes, 11 research collaborating centers, one national laboratory, and 5 key laboratories recognized by the Ministry of Health.

Faculty of Advanced Nursing at Peking University Health Science Center
The Faculty of Advanced Nursing at Peking University Health Science Center was formed from two institutions -- the Faculty of Nursing and the Health School.  The Faculty of Advanced Nursing was among the first to restore advanced nursing education in the country. It was granted to establish a Master's program by the State Education Committee in 1990.  Many graduates have now been put into key positions at different levels. The Health School, once directly subordinated to Ministry of Health, can trace its origin to 1915. The nurses and technicians graduated from it have been on the frontline to protect people's health and serve the community.

Chinese Foundation for the Prevention of STD and AIDS, Beijing 
The Chinese Foundation for the Prevention of STD and AIDS is a non-profit, non-governmental organization composed of prominent experts, medical researchers, social activists, and businessmen concerned about the prevention and control of STD and AIDS. The Foundation is a public welfare cooperation approved by the Ministry of Public Health and the People's Bank of China, and is registered in the Ministry of Civil Administration. The Foundation was founded in 1988.

The Foundation has developed a network of experts who use diverse mechanisms to assist the government in the prevention and treatment of the disease. A sampling of Foundation activity includes: 1. The filming of the video "AIDS Track," which was distributed throughout the entire country and was the winner of the Special Prize awarded by the Ministry of Public Health; 2. Cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Chinese Traditional Medicine, the Foundation held the "95 China International Symposium on AIDS;" 3. Establishment of the "Zoki Award" to fund research on the prevention and treatment of AIDS; 4. Establishment of an award program for recognition of outstanding workers and groups, as selected by the Ministry of Public Health, who have made significant contributions to research, education, and publicity concerning HIV/AIDS; 5. The successful organization of a large-scale "Public Education Exhibition on the Prevention of AIDS" in Guangdong Province, Guangxi Province, Beijing and other cities; 6. Participation in international academic exchanges, as well as lectures at home and abroad; 7. Administration of surveys and other social research on risk behaviors within high-risk populations to plan appropriate intervention and educational strategies; 8. The forming cooperative agreements with medical institutions on surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, laboratory research. 
 

Indonesia
Wayne Wiebel, PhD, UIC AITRP Program Coordinator for Indonesia
Irwanto, PhD, UIC AITRP Country Coordinator for Indonesia

Atma Jaya Catholic University
Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta is considered one of Indonesia’s leading research universities, particularly in behavioral science. Faculty and research staff affiliated with the Institute have conducted studies on AIDS since 1997, including the Life-styles of Street children (1997-2000; 2001); Rapid Assessment and Response on HIV/AIDS risk behavior among IDUs in 8 cities (2000). Team AIDS (1987 – ongoing); KAP Among Students in the Health Professions (2003- 2005) Indigenous outreach intervention among IDUs in Jakarta (2001-2008). Drug Use and Asian Cultures (2005-2008). The Atma Jaya Outreach Intervention Project, funded by USAIDS/FHI, is the largest program in the country and is responsible for adapting intervention strategies to fit the Indonesian context and to assist in the technology transfer of proven approaches to other programs across the country. The project’s community-based field station in central Jakarta covers 27 city sub-districts (to be expanded into 29 in 2006) serves and conducts research on over 2000 IDUs.

Family Health International Indonesia
Family Health International (FHI) works to improve reproductive and family health around the world through biomedical and social science research, innovative health service delivery interventions, training and information programs. In Indonesia, FHI has built upon its long-term relationship with the Government of Indonesia and NGO partners on family planning and sexually transmitted infection (STI) to include substantial work in the country on HIV/AIDS prevention and care. In particular, FHI implements the Aksi Stop AIDS (ASA) Program, with support from USAID/Indonesia. The ASA project focuses on improving the quality and efficiency of HIV/STI prevention project implementation in 10 provincial sites: Irian Jaya, three provinces in Sumatera, North Sulawesi, Maluku, and all of Java. Working with the Government of Indonesia and key international and local partners, the project aims to increase risk reduction behavior and practices among individuals at high risk; strengthen the quality, accessibility and utilization of HIV and STI prevention services; enhance the capacity and quality of the government's HIV/STI surveillance systems and their use in key decision-making; strengthen the capacity of local organizations to plan, finance, manage and coordinate HIV/STI responses; and increase leveraging of non-project programmatic interventions and financial resources.
 

Malawi
Kathleen Norr, PhD, UIC AITRP Program Coordinator for Malawi
Chrissie Ndasochera Kaponda, PhD, RN, UIC AITRP Country Coordinator for Malawi

University of Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing 
The University of Malawi is located in Lilongwe, the capital and largest city in the country. Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) is one of the five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi. It has long been the leading college of nursing education for Malawi, and offers the only baccalaureate degree in nursing available in Malawi. 

In 1999, the College established the first nursing research center in Malawi as part of the College’s commitment to the health of the nation. The Centre for Nursing Research on Primary Health Care, Women’s Health and Reproductive Health will provide a means for faculty to conduct research as part of the regular activities of the College. The first research project of the Centre was the development and dissemination of a peer group program for AIDS prevention in Malawi. The Center works closely with the National AIDS Secretariat and the Ministry of Health to ensure that the research at KCN is responsive to national needs and congruent with the nation’s overall prevention program.