Malawi College of Medicine Johns Hopkins University Research Project

The Malawi College of Medicine-Johns Hopkins University Research Project was started in 1988 in collaboration between the University of Malawi-College of Medicine, the Malawi Ministry of Health and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a primary focus on the prevention of HIV transmission.

The main project office is situated at Kachere Rehabilitation Centre in Blantyre, Malawi. It has approximately 210 staff members including researchers, nurses, clinicians, laboratory personnel and other support staff.  Some project staff work in five (5) government clinics located in nearby townships and at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) where participants for various research studies are recruited. Most of the studies done at this site are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through different networks such as the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).  

In past years, the Project has mainly concentrated on Mother-to-Child-Transmission (MTCT) prevention. Beginning this year, the Project will embark on additional HIV prevention research studies in the areas of vaccine trials and microbicide use.