Despite an array of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to address HIV – and the 90/90/90 strategy – the HIV
epidemic in Malaysia remains volatile. With over 100,000 cumulative HIV cases, Malaysia's rapidly expanding
HIV epidemic is the fifth largest in the Asia-Pacific region and concentrated within the most-at-risk populations,
including people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and female sex workers (FSW).
This is attributed to an inadequate scale up of EBIs, including access to HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP), antiretroviral therapy, needle/syringe exchange programs (NSEPs) – to meet HIV prevention and
treatment efforts. Therefore, given the need to expand EBIs into the continuum of HIV care in Malaysia, it is
critical that we invest in implementation science and the next generation of researchers to curtail the burden of
HIV disease. Thus, we propose to develop and institutionalize the Malaysian Implementation Science Training
(MIST) at the University of Malaya (UM) – the first training on HIV and implementation science that
incorporates human rights training in Malaysia – in collaboration with Yale University. MIST will leverage the
combined resources of Yale University (Schools of Medicine and Public Health) with the UM, a leading research
and training university in the Asia/Pacific region. The MIST training program will use experts in implementation
science from Yale University and introduce a hybrid training program between Yale and UM to initially train UM
faculty in implementation and train the next generation of researchers and implementers to have the skills to
address the HIV prevention and treatment cascade of care. Specifically, MIST adheres to three core aims,
including: 1) train 10 Implementation Research Scholars (IRS) and 4 Implementation Research Faculty (IRF) by
integrating an advance training in HIV implementation science from Yale School of Medicine; 2) transfer
knowledge and build capacity for the UM Certification in HIV Implementation Science; and 3) develop the
Implementation Science Resource Hub to consolidate resources and build partnership for better population
outcomes. We will create a regional hub for implementation science by providing advanced training for faculty
(who are not yet expert in implementation science), doctoral level training and capacity development of students
at a renowned public health university that is at the forefront of dynamic sociocultural, religious and political
shifts. Building on over 13 years of successful collaborations and partnerships in medical and public health
research for key populations, with or at risk for HIV, we are poised to focus implementation science to overcome
health disparities for PWID, MSM, FSW, transgender populations and prisoners, and provide advanced training
to produce a phased transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise from Yale to UM over the course of five years,
resulting in a model curriculum for training in Malaysia at the top university in Malaysia is led and sustained by
regional and local faculty with strong community, government and international partnerships.