The 1st Clinical Research During Outbreaks (CREDO) Southeast Asia, hosted by the Tropical Disease Foundation, Inc., successfully concluded its three-and-a-half-day in-person training on April 25, 2025. An initiative of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium (ISARIC), the CREDO curriculum is designed to equip researchers the skills to conduct agile and high-quality research during outbreaks.

The event took place at the Somerset Millennium Makati from April 22 to 25 , with 18 scholars from the Negros Island Region, The Medical City, St. Luke’s Medical Center, and the Tropical Disease Foundation, Inc. The keynote address, delivered by Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, provided participants with valuable insights on the critical role of research in shaping health systems and guiding responses during disease outbreaks.

Scholars had comprehensive training on CREDO’s core modules, along with two additional modules curated by TDF to enhance their learning journey. A distinguished panel of faculty members from ISARIC Regional Hubs in Africa and Pakistan, the ISARIC Global Coordinating Center, the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office, Apollo Hospitals Chennai and leading Philippine research institutions - TB-HIV Innovations and Clinical Research (Thincr), University of the Philippines (UP) General Hospital, UP Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Makati Medical Center -  delivered lectures and facilitated interactive workshops, ensuring an engaging and dynamic learning environment to deepen the scholars’ understanding of outbreak-related research.

During the training, scholars began drafting their individual research plans based on case scenarios of two ISARIC priority diseases, Dengue and Disease X. These plans will be further developed and finalized upon their return to their respective institutions. The teams’ research plans will be submitted by May as a requirement for passing the CREDO training.

TDF led by Dr. Julius Lecciones is an established research institute for TB, HIV and other infections of public health significance. TDF is the ISARIC Regional Hub for Southeast Asia and is represented by Dr. Janice Caoili to the ISARIC Executive Board. CREDO course is funded through ISARIC 3.0 supported by the Wellcome Grant, the Gates Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.