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Weekly News and Notes
From the Duke Global Health Institute
Greetings!
At the time of our last newsletter the H1N1 flu was just being discovered. During the last week the Duke Global Health Institute has been active in responding to the continuously changing news of new cases throughout the world. You'll want to take a minute to view a video clip of DGHI Director Michael Merson talking about flu pandemics, and visit a new website created by Duke to keep employees, students and patients informed.
In other global health news, we are pleased by the Obama administration's announcement today to ask Congress for $8.6 billion in FY 2010 and $63 billion over six years, to "help shape a new, comprehensive global health strategy." In particular, we applaud the President for focusing attention on broader global health issues like child and maternal health and neglected tropical diseases. Look for more information about the President's budget on the DGHI website tomorrow.
Finally, please join us in congratulating Duke's Class of 2009. Twenty-three students will receive a global health certificate this weekend as part of commencement ceremonies. We are proud of all of our graduates and wish them much success.
Until Next Week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI
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DGHI congratulates 23 Global Health Certificate Graduates
Almost two dozen burgeoning global health leaders will conclude their undergraduate careers at Duke this weekend, as the second class of global health certificate students graduate from the program.
 Since its creation at the start of the 2006-07 academic year, the Global Health Certificate has become the second largest certificate at Duke with 124 students currently enrolled. Certificate programs allow students to supplement their major area of study with a distinctive and interdisciplinary subject that is not available in any single academic unit. In addition to coursework, students must complete a fieldwork experience in which they will apply the theoretical knowledge and analytical skills gained in class.
Among this year's certificate graduates are Caitlin Milligan and Joseph Reardon who both received a High Distinction for their senior honors theses. Reardon's work on malaria was also recently published in the journal, Nature. These two outstanding students were also among the first class of Global Health Focus students to graduate.
"I was honored to teach such an outstanding group of young global health leaders," said Dennis Clements, MD, MPH who taught one of the two 2009 Capstone certificate courses. "I have great expectations that these students will have long, successful careers in the fields of medicine, law, business, and policy."
The Global Health Certificate aims to develop future leaders and provide the tools both to synthesize current knowledge in new ways and to formulate innovative solutions to achieve improvement in the quality of health for underserved populations. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to learn how to make significant contributions to the current challenges facing the world today, while also understanding the ethical concerns of working across cultural and economic boundaries.
For more on the Global Health Certificate program, click here.
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Kramer to lead DGHI's global environmental health initiative
 DGHI has tapped Randall Kramer to lead its research initiative on global environmental health. Kramer has been at Duke since 1988 and is Professor of Resource and Environmental Economics in the Environmental Sciences and Policy division of the Nicholas School of the Environment.
Kramer will lead DGHI's interdisciplinary faculty working group to address key issues of global environmental health. Among the top issues are: 1) indoor air quality in developing nations due to heating and cooking; 2) water quality and sanitation, including access to clean drinking water; and 3) effects of climate change on human health.
Trained as an environmental economist, Kramer's interest in environmental health grew out of his early research on water quality and biodiversity.
"My work on deforestation and its effect on malaria initially piqued my interest in environmental health," Kramer said.
As a result, Kramer's research group is now developing decision-support tools related to malaria policy and exploring the outcomes of interventions such as bed nets and spray programs, including their costs and impacts on health and environmental quality.
Earlier this year, Kramer and his colleagues published an article in the journal Health Policy titled "Using Decision Analysis to Improve Malaria Control Policy Making." The article urges Ministries of Health and other policy-making bodies to apply principles of decision analysis when formulating policies and deciding on best courses of action for controlling malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
"One of the most - if not the most- critical factor contributing to poor health in the world is the environmental," said Michael Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute. "We are grateful to have someone with Randy's experience and leadership to launch and grow this initiative."
Kramer was also recently voted a DGHI Member at the May meeting of the faculty body.
For more information about DGHI's six signature research initiatives, click here.
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News and Announcements
DGHI's Garcia-Blanco article in Nature highlights success of Duke-NUS partnership
Duke Professor and DGHI Executive Committee Member Mariano Garcia-Blanco and his team have a new article published in the April 23 issue of Nature. Their study reflects the value of the growing research partnership between Duke University Medical Center and the two-year old Duke-National University of Singapore. Since opening its doors to its first class of medical students in 2007, the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School has attracted some of the top students and scientists from around the world. Garcia-Blanco says Singapore's critical mass of knowledge about dengue was key to the success of the current study.
"Singapore is my classroom. The faculty there has nurtured my enthusiasm for virology and given me the intellectual support to translate their knowledge about dengue into application in Duke's laboratories, where the RNAi studies were done. Each of us needs the other in this venture, and we are hoping this partnership continues." Read more
DGHI Affiliate David Walmer featured in Raleigh News and Observer, May 2, 2009 Cheap scope can spot cancer Practicing medicine in a developing country is often an exercise in the art of jerry-rigging, but Dr. David Walmer is taking the challenge to a new level. Walmer, a reproductive endocrinologist at Duke University who has done extensive work in Haiti, is leading development of a new diagnostic tool that is the ultimate in MacGyver-esque resourcefulness. Read more
Duke researcher wins Gates Foundation Grand Challenge grant
Jen-Tsan Chi of Duke Medical Center has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create a new tool to accelerate the eradication of malaria. The project is titled "Mis-Expression of Liver-Specific miRNAs to Eradicate Malaria." According to the proposal, when malaria parasites infect different human cells, including liver and red blood cells, it is thought that microRNAs are important developmental cues that facilitate specific events in the parasite life cycle. Chi will test whether expressing liver-specific microRNAs within red blood cells will trick the parasite into undergoing liver-stage development, leading to its death. The 81 individuals selected for grants are eligible for additional funding of $1 million or more for "creative projects that show great promise to improve the health of people in the developing world."
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Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (P30) National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, solicits grant applications from institutions/organizations that propose to establish core centers that are part of an integrated program of nutrition and/or obesity-research.
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May 7 » 8 am - 4 pm East Meets West: Singapore-Duke Research Collaborations, LSRC Auditorium
May 8 » 5:30 pm Global Health Certificate Reception, Room 124 Trent Hall
May 23 - 25 » 11th Annual Conference of Association for India's Development USA, Love Auditorium, Duke
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