CREATIVE Fellowship MSc
The CREATIVE Fellowship announced MSc training focused on clinical trials and epidemiology with industry involvement for applicants from sub‑Saharan Africa, positioning the programme as a pathway between research and applied clinical work. The fellowship frames itself as a hybrid route combining academic training and practical trial experience. (x.com)
Applications are open for a new CREATIVE Fellowship that will fund 12 researchers in sub-Saharan Africa to train in clinical trials or epidemiology. (lshtm.ac.uk) The programme is coordinated by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded through the European Union’s Global Health European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 programme. Fellows will study part time for a distance-learning Master of Science while working at host research institutions in their home countries. (lshtm.ac.uk; ec.europa.eu) Nine fellows are slated for the Master of Science in Clinical Trials and three for the Master of Science in Epidemiology. The fellowship is funded for 30 months, starts in October 2026, and includes a competitive industry internship alongside structured mentoring. (lshtm.ac.uk) Clinical trials are the studies that test whether a drug, vaccine, or other health tool works safely in people. Epidemiology is the field that tracks who gets sick, where, and why, which helps researchers decide what questions those trials should ask. (lshtm.ac.uk) The fellowship is built around a gap that European and African funders have described for years: sub-Saharan Africa carries a heavy burden of infectious disease but has too few researchers with advanced training in clinical research and product development. The 2024 Global Health European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 call said the goal was to link academia, funders, and industry to build that workforce. (ec.europa.eu; edctp.org) CREATIVE narrows that model to six countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Each of the six host institutions will take two fellows, including Haramaya University, Kintampo Health Research Centre, the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia, the Uganda Virus Research Institute collaboration with the London School, Zambart, and the Biomedical Research and Training Institute. (lshtm.ac.uk) Applicants must be nationals of one of those six countries and can apply only for a placement in their own country. The London School says candidates need a relevant first- or second-class degree, at least one year of health research experience, and English that meets its Band B requirement. (lshtm.ac.uk) The application window opened on April 10, 2026, and the listed deadline is May 29, 2026. Fellows must be available to start full time in October 2026 at the host institution where they are placed. (lshtm.ac.uk; lshtm.ac.uk) The design follows a broader shift in African research training toward programmes that mix classroom teaching with field placement and employer-facing skills. Other recent initiatives from the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have also paired Master’s-level training with applied epidemiology or industry-linked research experience. (edctp.org; africacdc.org) For applicants, the offer is unusually specific: a funded Master of Science, a home-country research post, and a shot at industry placement in one package. For the institutions hosting them, the programme is set up to keep that training tied to local clinical research sites instead of moving fellows abroad for the full course. (lshtm.ac.uk; ec.europa.eu)
