An exciting new frontier in brain studies is coming to AUC: The African Brain Health Institute Fellowship Program, a one-year initiative that will be jointly hosted at AUC and the Aga Khan University in Kenya. 

Training African researchers through a curriculum tailored to the continent's cultural and social realities, the program will include hands-on learning, mentorship and publication opportunities. Applications for the first cohort are expected to open this November, with a two-stage review process, and the program will officially start in September 2026. 

Why Brain Science in Africa

The fellowship program is a collaboration with the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), with AUC leading operational management and overseeing execution. “The fellowships seek to produce a cohort of African leaders to assess the specific brain science needs of people in the continent,” said Mohamed Salama, professor at AUC’s Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology. “The science around brain health is a fascinating and emerging field.”

Recent studies have shown that cross-disciplinary programs are essential to understanding the full scope of what the brain is capable of and how to keep it healthy. Cultural context has also been proven to have an impact on brain function. Unfortunately, Africa remains an understudied field in this regard, Salama explained. “The misconception that Africans are a ‘younger’ population has led to a gap in knowledge as to how aging African brains function. The African Brain Health Institute Fellowship Program seeks to close this gap by providing valuable insights on brain health within the African context,” said Salama.

The fellowship program will apply a curriculum simliar to what GBHI has been using for the past decade but within an African framework. “The original GBHI model helped shape the way people think about brain health across the world. However, because it is global in nature, it does not focus on the challenges faced in Africa specifically. The risks and challenges within Africa are different, and the continent has not been studied before,” said Salama. “A modified program tailored to our needs will provide more support to African fellows since they will be trained on how to solve problems relevant to their region in a way that is less generalized.”

“A modified program tailored to our needs will provide more support to African fellows since they will be trained on how to solve problems relevant to their region in a way that is less generalized.”

Fellowship Focus

The African Brain Health Institute Fellowship Program will operate across two campuses: AUC and Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya. “It’s one program with two connected universities,” said Salama. Each site will have its own cohort of 15 students who will do both site-specific and cross-site research and coursework. Salama has spent the past four years adapting GBHI courses to be offered at AUC. “We’ve been modifying the courses and changing them so they are more aligned to the Egyptian and African contexts,” said Salama. 

AUC’s existing brain science initiatives – such as the aging survey, the dementia registry and diversified research programs – make it the perfect host for the African Brain Health Institute. Upcoming cohort members will be able to take advantage of AUC’s relationship with local clinics, regional mentors and locally based GBHI senior fellows. 

Salama emphasized the diverse nature of the program. “There isn’t a ‘typical’ applicant,” he said. “Students may come from multiple backgrounds, such as neuroscience research, neurology, policy, arts, writing. It’s a multidisciplinary program.” Still, it’s expected that applicants have previous experience in the brain health field, even if not explicitly clinical or neuroscience-related, he added.

A large aim of the fellowship is to cultivate the next generation of brain science leaders, taking junior professionals and amplifying them to mid-career status and beyond. To reach this goal, the program includes a flipped learning model with fellow-led sessions, giving participants the opportunity to guide their peers and expose gaps within their own communities. At the end of the program, each fellow will submit a proposal for a pilot project aimed at solving one part of brain health challenges. Fellows also will create five-year action plans with their mentors to pave the way toward continued work in the brain science field. 

“AUC has taken the lead in brain studies, and I believe GBHI and the African Brain Health Institute can be instrumental in supporting initiatives like this for a new generation of brain health leaders, fostering collaboration with a network around the world,” said GBHI Director Iracema Leroi. 

At a meeting of brain science experts hosted by AUC at the start of the Fall 2025 semester, there was palpable excitement for a brain health program that takes the global GBHI model and narrows it to best serve aging Africans. “It’s Africa for Africans, but also Africa for the rest of the world, and vice versa,” said Leroi. “Our goal is to change the world, to create a sustainable network of brain health leaders across the world, to come up with solutions to common problems for humanity around aging brain health.” 

“Our goal is to change the world, to create a sustainable network of brain health leaders across the world, to come up with solutions to common problems for humanity around aging brain health.” 

Expressing his vision for the future of the African Brain Health Institute, Salama noted, “I hope that next year we will have a completely culturally adapted program that is aligned and connected to GBHI but has an African taste.”