ALPHA Network
The ALPHA network aims to maximise the usefulness of data generated in community-based longitudinal HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa for national and international agencies involved in designing or monitoring interventions and epidemiological forecasting.
The project links existing African HIV cohort studies and runs training workshops to facilitate replication of analyses of demographic correlates and consequences of HIV infection. Comparative studies and meta-analyses are undertaken on comparable data sets, imposing a common format on data collected and stored in a variety of ways.
The ALPHA network is funded by The Wellcome Trust and is in its second phase (2010-15). The network is coordinated by the Population Studies Department at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Its members are:
| Country | Joined | Site | Short name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 2010 | Nairobi urban cohort study operated by the Africa Population Health Research Centre | APHRC |
| Kenya | 2010 | CDC/KEMRI study site in Kisumu | Kisumu |
| Malawi | 2005 | Karonga Prevention Study in Northern Malawi managed by LSHTM | Karonga |
| South Africa | 2005 | Umkhanyakude cohort in Hlabisa district managed by the Africa Centre in KwaZulu Natal | ACDIS |
| South Africa | 2010 | Agincourt study in Mpumalanga Province | Agincourt |
| Tanzania | 2005 | Kisesa open cohort managed by the TAZAMA programme at NIMR (Mwanza) | Kisesa |
| Tanzania | 2010 | Kilombero cohort operated by the Ifakara Health Institute | Ifakara |
| Uganda | 2005 | Kyamulibwa general population cohort managed by MRC/UVRI in Masaka district | Masaka |
| Uganda | 2006 | Rakai study, managed by Makerere University and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health | Rakai |
| Zimbabwe | 2005 | Manicaland Study in Eastern Zimbabwe managed by Imperial College and the Blair Research Training Institute | Manicaland |
Further community-based cohort studies that begin HIV data collection may be invited to join the network to develop their expertise in longitudinal analysis techniques.
The specific studies undertaken or forthcoming are described in detail under the workshops heading in the side menu. Each workshop page also contains links to the open-access publications resulting from the completed workshops.
An important subsidiary aim of the network is building capacity in analytical, statistical and presentational skills at all the collaborating studies.
ALPHA workshops are the central activity of the network. Each workshop incorporats teaching and demonstration sessions which launch analyses on a particular topic. Typically, these are led by scientists from the site that has made most progress to date with work on that topic. The resulting site-specific and comparative cross-site analyses are published in special open-source journal issues.
Collaborative work from the network sites has been presented at international conferences, including the International AIDS Society in Mexico 2008, and the International Union for Scientific Study of Population in Marrakesh 2009 and the International AIDS Society in Vienna 2010.
For further information contact alpha@lshtm.ac.uk
