Center for Global Oncology Leadership Attend Infection-Associated Cancer Research Training Program in Mali

May 2025

The Infection-Associated Cancer (IAC) Research Training Program in Mali (grant number D43CA260658), held its annual meeting and workshops February 24 – 26, 2025 in Bamako, Mali. Led by grant principal investigators and Center for Global Oncology leadership Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, and Mamoudou Maiga, MD, PhD, the IAC Research Training Program’s goal is to train researchers in strategies to implement new contextually appropriate and culturally adaptive strategies to reduce in incidence, morbidity and mortality of IAC in Mali and across the region. This grant is a partnership between Northwestern University and the University of Science, Technique and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB). 

Colonel Assa Badiallo Toure, the Minister of Health and Social Development, joined the IAC Research Training Program Annual Meeting on the first day for a panel with the USTTB Rector, Professor Mahamadou Diakite, and grant leadership. They discussed the importance of continued collaboration and development of independent researchers in Mali.  

During the workshop, trainees supported by the grant presented their research projects. Mohamed Diallo, PhD, a candidate sponsored by the IAC Research Training Program, presented his project, “Development of an automated slide stainer and smart microscope for diagnostic applications in Mali.” The development of this device reduces the workload of technicians by automating slide scanning for diagnosis of diseases including tuberculosis, malaria and cervical cancer for individuals with and without HIV. The smart microscope can be used in rural areas, providing an option for easier and earlier diagnosis.

A trainee showcases the smart microscope prototype to Lifang Hou and Mamoudou Maiga.

Modibo Diarra, a master’s candidate sponsored by the IAC Research Training Program, presented, “Epigenetic Study of Prostate Cancer in Mali, West Africa.” This project focuses on using the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, which currently has limited research, through evaluating the epigenetic profiles of prostate cancer in patients in Mali.  

In addition to these presentations, Northwestern visitors toured the newly renovated Research and Training Center on Molecular Pathology (CERPAM) lab. At CERPAM, Hou and Maiga cut the ceremonial ribbon to unveil the USTTB and Northwestern Collaboration office. This office space will be available to Northwestern faculty members when they travel to Mali for meetings, project discussion and continued cooperation between the institutions.

The Center for Global Oncology is a shared center with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Havey Institute for Global Health.  

Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, is a member of the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM). Hou and Mamoudou Maiga, MD, PhD, are members of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health and Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). 

To learn more about the Center for Global Oncology, visit their website.  

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