Building capacity in research to eliminate hepatitis B virus (BEAT-HBV) - hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major global infectious disease, affecting millions of americans and hundreds of millions of…

The National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center awarded $133,103 to the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) on August 15, 2026, under the International Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.989) to establish and operate a research training program on hepatitis B virus.

The BEAT-HBV program will train U.S. and Zambian new and early-stage investigators, master's and doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows in HBV research methods and clinical and translational research approaches. Trainees will study HBV infection's natural history and identify clinical and public health research questions relevant to treatment and prevention in the United States, Zambia, and globally. The program leverages Zambia's epidemiological burden—HBV infection and HBV-associated liver cancer are 20–50 times more prevalent than in the U.S.—and CIDRZ's established research partnerships with multiple U.S. universities, including an NIH-supported sentinel HBV clinical cohort, to provide a training environment with access to a large patient population and active HBV clinical and translational research infrastructure.

Work will be performed in Zambia. The award period runs from August 15, 2026, through April 30, 2031.

Building capacity in research to eliminate hepatitis B virus (BEAT-HBV) - hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major global infectious disease, affecting millions of americans and hundreds of millions of people worldwide, making complications from viral hepatitis among the top 10 causes of death. In the U.S., 1-2 million people are living with chronic HBV infection, which is a major cause of liver cancer. Acute HBV infections, which can sometimes cause liver failure requiring liver transplantation, have been linked to the opioid epidemic. The virus also spreads due to immigration to the U.S. From other countries and during travel of americans abroad. A new research training program, called BEAT HBV, is proposed to address the shortage of HBV researchers. Despite HBV being common, there is a major lack of HBV-focused scientists, compared to other major infections. The need for workforce capacity in this field was highlighted in the U.S. Government's plan for hepatitis B cure research. BEAT HBV will be based in zambia for several reasons. First, HBV infection and HBV-associated liver cancer are 20-50 times more prevalent than in U.S., which makes IT easier to recruit participants and study the infection's natural history. Local organizations in zambia have well-established research partnerships with multiple U.S. Universities, including a collaborative NIH-supported sentinel HBV clinical cohort that is helping to answering questions relevant to treatment and prevention of HBV in america. Access to a large population of patients and active HBV clinical and translational research provides a strong training environment that does not exist in the U.S. Trainees including U.S. And zambian new and early-stage investigators, masters, PHD, and post-DOC levels will learn HBV research methods and be trained to identify and tackle the most pressing clinical and public health questions for the benefit of people in the U.S., zambia, and globally. Fellows in the program will also undertake mentored research to answer scientific questions, such what predicts the onset of liver cancer in chronic HBV infection and what are the best implementation strategies to identify chronic infections in hard-to-reach populations before the onset of complications. Research by BEAT HBV trainees will also advance the U.S. Government's HBV cure agenda, including novel viral and immunomodulatory therapies plus diagnostic biomarkers, which is highly relevant to americans since current therapies lower the virus load but not eliminate the risk of cancer. Ultimately, the program will better equip the U.S. To achieve HBV elimination at home and with partner countries like zambia.