Duke Global Health Institute Weekly News

Weekly News and Notes
From the Duke Global Health Institute

Greetings!

This week DGHI and Fuqua's Health Sector Management Program are pleased to welcome to Duke an outstanding group of health systems experts from around the world to develop recommendations for improving health management education. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from four members of this group at a panel discussion on health care reform in Brazil, South Africa, China and India. It will take place Wed., Nov 4 at 5:30 pm in Fuqua's Connally Classroom.

Also this week DGHI is pleased to host Marian Jacobs, a pioneer of children's health in South Africa. She'll deliver the University Seminar on Global Health on Thursday, Nov 5 at 4:30 pm in Perkins Library Room 217.

Finally, we bring to you an update from the first cohort of students in the Master of Science in Global Health program. Read Alyssa's story and watch a short video from a current student.

Until next week,

Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI

DGHI's Master of Science in Global Health Focuses on Research to Improve Health Around the World

By Alyssa Zamora, Duke Global Health Institute

It's one of only a few in the nation, and it has attracted students from as far away as Asia and Africa. The Duke Global Health Institute's Master of Science in global health (MSc-GH) program, which launched this year, has wide appeal for those who want to affect the health of entire populations.

"Both DGHI and the MSc-GH program were designed to respond to the students who have asked for increased global health educational opportunities," said Chris Woods, associate professor of medicine, who leads the master's program. "We've done our best to meet those needs and develop a program that will prepare students for a career in global health work and research."

For Jiani Sun, who believes it is her civic responsibility to improve health in her home country of China, the master's program in global health was a perfect fit. Sun graduated from China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing earlier this year with a degree in pharmaceutics, and was unsure of her next step. She stumbled upon a video on DGHI's website that she said changed her life.

"President Brodhead's comments in the video impressed upon me quite a bit. He said global health connects people from all over the world to deal with health problems, and give back to society," said Sun. "That was the moment I decided to apply to Duke."

The master's program offers students, like Sun, a broader understanding of the causes of and solutions for health problems through a multi-disciplinary lens. As a result, the inaugural class incorporates a mix of students, researchers, clinicians and professionals from multiple disciplines, ranging from business and environmental science to medicine, law and public policy. "This is great," said master's student Genevieve Wolpert, "it brings a variety of opinions and experiences to the table in our class discussions." Read the full story.

Get an Inside Look at the MSc-GH From the Student Perspective

The MSc-GH graduate program is currently recruiting students,clinicians and professionals for the class that begins in Fall 2010. Learn more about the program, including how to apply.

New and Noteworthy

Tanzania's First Female Physician begins Medical School and Builds Alliances with U.S. Institutions

For every 33,000 people living in Tanzania, there is one doctor to serve them. This daunting doctor-to-patient ratio, as Dr. Esther Mwaikambo describes it, has a lot to do with Tanzania's status as one of the poorest countries in the world where there is a high risk for disease and morbidity.

Mwaikambo spoke before a crowd of faculty, staff and students at the Duke Global Health Institute last week to bring awareness to this reality, as well as the challenges of starting and sustaining a medical school in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a professor of pediatrics and former Vice Chancellor of the Hubert Kairuki Memorial University School of Medicine in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which was established in 1997 to address the shortage of trained health professionals. In the last five years, more than 150 young doctors graduated from the program, but Mwaikambo said some of the same challenges still exist.

Dr. Esther Mwaikambo's lecture was part of DGHI's Global Health Exchange Series

"It's very difficult to attract highly-qualified medical professionals and faculty members to our university, and we can't retain them because you have to pay them good money," said Mwaikambo. The so-called "brain drain" is causing many newly-trained African doctors to seek higher-paying jobs in urban centers and in the West, rather than in rural Africa where they are needed most. Nearly three quarters of Tanzania's population live in rural villages. "I don't blame them," said Mwaikambo. "But at the same time, we need them to stay and help their communities."

Mwaikambo emphasized the greatest challenge facing the Tanzanian private university is poor financing. Aside from inadequate funding to attract and retain faculty and administrative staff, the medical school also lacks enough funding to maintain and update equipment and infrastructure. "It takes a lot of money to build up a medical school," said Mwaikambo. The university began in a single building that was formerly a residence, and 12 years later, lecture halls and laboratories remain inadequate. Mwaikambo said they must compete for government aid, since there are five other medical schools in the country.

These funding and human resource challenges provide the backdrop for Mwaikambo's trip to universities across the U.S., and most recently to Duke, where a partnership already exists. Read the full story.

Faculty News and Funding

Gary Bennett: Fulfilling a Grandfather's Dream

On the wall of his well-kept office in the Psychology and Neuroscience building, Gary Bennett keeps a number of photos - Charles Drew, John Henry, his family. There's also a 3-by-5 photo of Bennett shaking hands with the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy while he worked as a visiting scientist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

That image meant everything to Bennett's late grandfather, who kept the photo on his nightstand.

"My grandfather was one of the smartest people I've known," Bennett said. "He grew up during the '20s in a very different America. He didn't go to college, but was incredibly hard-working, fought as a Buffalo Soldier in World War II and ultimately became a police detective. I think that for him, that picture signified the success of his efforts."

As a researcher with the Duke Global Health Institute, tackling such difficult issues as obesity, Bennett said the photo reminds him that "change often requires passion and time."

Read the full story, featured in Duke Today's "New Faculty" Series.

Register today for Mosquito Biology and Biotechnology Conference, Nov. 23-24 at Duke

The Mosquito Biology and Biotechnology Conference will be held at Duke November 23-24. The goal of this meeting is to discuss strategies for reducing the burden of mosquito-borne diseases by focusing on mosquito biology, molecular biology, field interventions, and policies that help individuals to access health biotechnology. Nearly a dozen international leaders in the field will speak at the event, including DGHI Associate Director for Research, Dr. John Bartlett. Learn more and register for this special event. Conference is free and open to the public.

Funding Opportunities

Roadmap Transformative Research Projects Program (R01)

As part of the NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research, the NIH invites transformative Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/organizations proposing groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific paradigms or challenge existing ones. Read more >>

Request for Proposals

Implementation Science and Global Health

Abstracts are being solicited for the 3rd Annual NIH conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation that will be held March 15-16. Read more >>

Education Opportunity

Applications Available for 2010-11 Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program

The Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program makes it possible for emerging leaders in U.S. biomedical engineering (or bioengineering) to undertake a self-designed project that will enhance their own careers within the field. Read more >>

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For additional faculty opportunities, click here.

Student News and Funding

Spring Registration Begins Wednesday, November 4

Interested in learning more about health determinants and ways to reduce health disparities in marginalized and underserved communities around the globe? See a full listing of global health courses available next semester, including several new offerings. Registration for courses ends on Wednesday, November 18.

Summer Fieldwork Opportunities

Fieldwork Opportunities through the Duke Global Health Institute

DGHI is proud to announce openings for student fieldwork projects in the summer of 2010. Fieldwork is a great way to learn more about the global health challenges that face underserved and resource-limited communities around the world.

DGHI's fieldwork opportunities range in topic from maternal health and infectious diseases to community development, health education and access to care. Fieldwork opportunities are available in seven countries. Read more >>

Resume and letter of interest due November 30.

Cultural Immersion & ESL Teaching Internship Opportunity in the Philippines

The Hubert-Yeargan Center (HYC), in collaboration with Family to Family, Inc., is offering a summer internship opportunity to provide ESL tutoring service at Mapa School and Farm in Camiguin, Philippines. Mapa is an elementary level boarding school serving students who come from extreme poverty who would otherwise have no access to schooling. Submit application by November 23. Read more >>

Education Opportunities

DGHI now accepting applications for the Fall 2010 class of the MSc-GH program

The Duke Global Health Institute, in collaboration with the Duke Graduate School, is currently accepting applications for the second cohort of the Master of Science in Global Health (MSc-GH) program, which will begin in August 2010. Read more >>

Call for Abstracts: New Investigators in Global Health

The New Investigators in Global Health (NIGH) program is a competitive abstract submission and selection program designed to highlight exemplary research, policy and advocacy initiatives of new and future leaders in global health, and empower participants with global health advocacy skills. Read more >>