_{By Moses Lutaaya}

KAMPALA — Leaders at Makerere University have renewed calls to strengthen research ethics, governance, and integrity systems, as the institution positions itself as a leading research-driven university in Uganda and the region.

The call was made during a high-level workshop that brought together regulators, academic leaders, and research ethics committees, with a shared focus on improving coordination, efficiency, and accountability in research oversight.

Dr. Fredrick Nakwagala, Chairperson of the Accreditation Committee at the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, commended Makerere for hosting nearly a quarter of Uganda’s approximately 40 accredited research ethics committees. He described this as a strong indicator of the university’s leadership in scientific research and training.

He noted that Uganda has made significant progress in building local capacity for research, moving away from reliance on foreign expertise. However, he raised concerns about gaps in institutional governance across the country, including weak research funding structures and limited administrative support in some institutions.

Dr. Nakwagala emphasized the need for standardization across ethics committees, expansion of ethical frameworks into emerging fields such as gene editing and environmental research, and stronger institutional mechanisms to address research integrity issues such as plagiarism, misuse of funds, and exploitation of students.

Echoing these sentiments, Prof. Edward Bbaale, Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences, stressed that ethical review is central to credible and impactful research. He warned that fragmented systems lead to delays and inconsistencies, calling for harmonization and collaboration among research ethics committees.

Prof. Bbaale also highlighted the need for efficient and responsive review processes, continuous training in emerging research areas such as artificial intelligence and climate studies, and stronger compliance systems to meet national and international standards.

On his part, Prof. Robert Wamala, Director of the Directorate of Research Innovations and Partnerships, underscored the importance of research integrity, noting that excellence must be measured not only by output but also by ethical rigor and societal relevance.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen coordination among research ethics committees, align university systems with national requirements, and enhance institutional governance through clearer guidelines, capacity building, and collaboration with regulators.

However, concerns about the impact of current systems on students were raised by Prof. Julius Kikooma, Director of Graduate Training. He revealed that many graduate students face delays in receiving feedback from ethics committees, which affects their academic progress.

Prof. Kikooma also pointed to complaints about the cost of ethics review, noting that most graduate students are self-funded and struggle to meet the required fees. He cited the example of the University of Ghana, where ethics review fees for graduate students have been waived, suggesting Uganda could consider similar reforms.

Participants at the workshop agreed that while ethical oversight remains essential for safeguarding research participants and ensuring quality, there is an urgent need to make systems more efficient, accessible, and supportive—particularly for early-career researchers.

The engagement concluded with a shared commitment to strengthen ethical standards, improve research governance, and reinforce Makerere University’s position as a hub for credible, impactful, and globally competitive research.

Program overview

The Harnessing Health Data Science capacity to strengthen evidence-based interventions, policy and response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Uganda (H-DATA) is a training grant funded by the NIH through Fogarty International Center (Grant Number D43TW013056). This grant is a collaborative effort of multiple principal investigators from Makerere University, Uganda and University of California, San Francisco, USA.

Grant period: 2026/2030 | Principal Investigators: David Patrick Kateete; Charles Batte;   Joyce Nakatumba, Nabende;  Efstathios Gennatas Dimitrios

H-DATA seeks to recruit qualified Ugandans for full-time PhD training in Health Data Science registered at Makerere University.

Thematic areas

Candidates should propose research studies or concepts that apply health data science approaches (AI and Machine learning) to the following thematic themes:

• HIV risk stratification
• Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) comorbidities in HIV [Specifically Chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases / hypertension]
• HIV treatment outcomes, adherence, and long-term ART trajectories
• Non-Canonical HIV resistance mutations
• Digital medicine and real-world HIV data
• Health systems and policy analytics for HIV programs

Fellowship package

The PhD fellowship support is for up to three (3) years (full-time), subject to annual performance reviews and progress milestones. Successful scholars will be registered at Makerere University and may undertake sponsored didactic health data science methods training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), USA, to receive additional skills development and mentorship in health data science research.

Application Information

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is seeking exceptional early career stage scientists to join the Institute as an International Fellow, contributing to the Institute’s scientific portfolio. Up to six fellowships available. 

The Institute is an internationally outstanding genomic research centre with over 30 core faculty teams and 1,300 employees based south of Cambridge, UK.

Fellowship Eligibility:

• You are typically an early-mid career group leader/faculty usually up to nine years post PhD, based at a research organisation in a low- or middle-income country (LMIC). You may hold a faculty or equivalent position and are seeking to establish or strengthen your research team to develop an internationally recognised research portfolio. We also welcome applicants with equivalent experience, including those who have taken career breaks or followed non-traditional paths

• Your main research aims should be focused on your local country and research priorities which contributes to or complements the Institute’s scientific strategy through their expertise.

Closing date: 13^th February 2026

See details