Working Groups  

Education and Mentoring

One of the most important priorities for InFACT is to build research capacity outside of North America and Europe, and to empower groups in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia to assume their legitimate leadership roles in framing an international research agenda for the best care of critically ill patients.

InFACT members include four groups in Asia, four in Latin America, and two in Africa.   Building on the success of the BASIC (Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care Course), developed and led by Charles Gomersall, chair of the Asian Critical Care Clinical Trials Group, InFACT has developed a course in BASIC research, structured as a two day train the trainer program, and supported by a manual on basic research principles.  Led by Charles, by Shay McGuinness and Rachael Parke (ANZICS CTG), and by Rob Fowler and Neill Adhikari (Canadian Critical Care Trials Group), the course has now been given in Karachi Pakistan, Sydney Australia, Hong Kong, and Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

In addition, InFACT is developing a fellowship program to support the education and mentorship of trainees and junior investigators from areas where critical care research is under-developed.  The model entails co-funding by the mentor and by the student’s home country, and seeks to create a cohort of skilled and dedicated researchers who can be the future leaders of critical care research in their own countries.