AUTHORS - Goonaseelan Pillai1,2 , Kelly Chibale3, Edwin C. Constable4, Akiko N. Keller5*, Marcelo M. Gutierrez5, Fareed Mirza5, Christian Sengstag4, Collen Masimirembwa6, Paolo Denti2, Gary Maartens2, Michèle Ramsay7, Bernhards Ogutu8, Eyasu Makonnen9, Richard Gordon10, Carlos Gil Ferreira11, Fernando Alberto Goldbaum12, Wim M. S. Degrave13, Jonathan Spector14, Brigitta Tadmor14 and Hedwig J. Kaiser4; AFFILIATIONS - 1CP+ Associates GmbH, Basel, Switzerland. 2Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 3Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 4University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 5Novartis, Basel, Switzerland. 6African Institute of Biomedical Science & Technology, Harare, Zimbabwe. 7Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Division of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 8University of Strathmore and Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya. 9Center For Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 10Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa. 11D’or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 12Leloir Institute Foundation, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 13Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 14Novartis, Cambridge, USA.Wim M. S. Degrave - Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Documento produzido em parceria ou por autor vinculado à Fiocruz, mas não consta à informação no documento.Background: Scientific and professional development opportunities for early career scientists in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs) are limited and not consistent. There is a disproportionately low number of biomedical and clinical researchers in LMIC’s relative to their high burden of disease, a disparity that is aggravated by emigration of up to 70% of scientists from their countries of birth for education and employment elsewhere. To help address this need, a novel University-accredited, immersive fellowship program was established by a large public-academic-private network. We sought to describe the program and summarize progress and lessons learned over its first 7-years. Methods: Hallmarks of the program are a structured learning curriculum and bespoke research activities tailored to the needs of each fellow. Research projects expose the scientists to state-of-the-art methodologies and leading experts in their fields while also ensuring that learnings are implementable within their home infrastructure. Fellows run seminars on drug discovery and development that reinforce themes of scientific leadership and teamwork together with practical modules on addressing healthcare challenges within their local systems. Industry mentors achieve mutual learning to better understand healthcare needs in traditionally underserved settings. We evaluated the impact of the program through an online survey of participants and by assessing research output. Results: More than 140 scientists and clinicians from 25 countries participated over the 7-year period. Evaluation revealed strong evidence of knowledge and skills transfer, and beneficial self-reported impact on fellow’s research output and career trajectories. Examples of program impact included completion of post-graduate qualifications; establishment and implementation of good laboratory- and clinical- practice mechanisms; and becoming lead investigators in local programs. There was a high retention of fellows in their home countries (> 75%) and an enduring professional network among the fellows and their mentors. Conclusions: Our experience demonstrates an example for how multi-sectoral partners can contribute to scientific and professional development of researchers in LMICs and supports the idea that capacity-building efforts should be tailored to the specific needs of beneficiaries to be maximally effective. Lessons learned may be applied to the design and conduct of other programs to strengthen science ecosystems in LMICs.