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Weekly News and Notes
From the Duke Global Health Institute
Greetings!
Faculty research is the backbone of academic institutes like DGHI. That's one of the reasons we're pleased to feature a new research grant just received by one of DGHI's newest faculty members, Manoj Mohanan. Learn about his new research endeavor below.
In addition to research, a priority of DGHI is establishing partnerships with universities and institutions around the globe. If you have experience building international collaborations, I encourage you to take a look at this new job opportunity .
Finally, take a look at the wealth of special events, lectures and conferences in our Upcoming Events section. Spring is always a busy time, so be sure to mark your calendar and take advantage of these outstanding opportunities.
Until next week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI
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DGHI Faculty Member Awarded $1+ Million to Evaluate Voucher Programs in Obstetric Care in India
By Alyssa Zamora
 DGHI faculty member Manoj Mohanan, along with Grant Miller (Stanford University) and Gerard La Forgia (The World Bank), has been awarded $1.2 million from the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) to conduct an evaluation of state-run voucher programs in India that provide access to obstetric care in the private sector to women living below the poverty line. Mohanan, who leads DGHI's health systems strengthening research initiative, will work in the Indian states of Gujarat and Karnataka, where new programs have been developed that encourage pregnant women to deliver their babies in medical facilities rather than at home. Specifically, pregnant women can use Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards as vouchers to receive free maternity care at designated maternity hospitals.
Despite the absence of rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of these programs, many other Indian states (including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) are implementing or planning their own versions of the voucher program. Therefore, Mohanan's research will be critical in guiding other Indian states' efforts to improve maternal and child health.
The WHO estimates that 1500 women worldwide die every day to pregnancy-related complications. Although institutional deliveries have increased recently, birth outcomes in India have been slow to improve. One likely explanation is the low quality of medical care, which is common in many parts of India. There is also evidence that provider effort is low, suggesting poor alignment between clinician incentives and patient health.
Mohanan will address the low quality of medical care by conducting policy experiments in Karnataka to evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives to maternity care providers for (a) improvements in the clinical quality of services and (b) actual gains in maternal health. He will evaluate the effectiveness of these provider incentives both with and without vouchers for institutional delivery.
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New and Noteworthy
DGHI Awards Three Pilot Grants for Global Environmental Health Research
The Duke Global Health Institute and Duke's Center for Comparative Biology of Vulnerable Populations have awarded three pilot project grants to stimulate interdisciplinary research in the field of environmental health.
The three Duke projects will receive receive up to $50,000 over two years to explore a diverse set of issues affecting human health, ranging from the effects of water quality and toxin exposure to climate change. Further, the winning projects will focus on environmental and health issues in Ethiopia, the Brazilian Amazon, Peru and Bolivia.
Faculty members involved in these projects specialize in a variety of areas, including biology, epidemiology, policy, economics, environmental engineering, biostatistics and parasitology. Two of the three projects also include faculty members from other universities, both locally as well as abroad where the research will be conducted. (See full project descriptions.)
The Pilot Projects Program is an extension of DGHI's signature global environmental health research initiative, which encourages interdisciplinary research to tackle the complex biological, social, behavioral and economic aspects of global environmental health. The Center for for Comparative Biology of Vulnerable Populations supports research aimed at understanding how biological, physiological and social aspects of vulnerability alter the effect of the environment on human health.
Funded Projects
Processes Controlling Groundwater Quality and Impacts on Human Health in the Main Ethiopian Rift -- Co-Principle Investigators: Peter G. McCornick, Avner Vengosh, Tewodros Rango Godebo
Modeling the Effect of Climate Change and Land Cover Change on Malaria Risk in the Brazilian Amazon -- Principle Investigator: James S. Clark;
Co-Principle Investigators: Katia Koelle, Alex Pfaff, Alan Gelfand, Marcelo Urbano Ferreira, Monica da Silva Nunes, Denis Valle
Modeling the Effect of Climate Change and Land Cover Change on Malaria Risk in the Brazilian Amazon -- Principle Investigator: Heileen Hsu-Kim;
Co-Principle Investigators: Nicholas Robins, Susan Halabi, Dan Richter
Family Health Ministries is Recruiting Medical Providers for Deployment to Haiti
At the request of community partners in Haiti, DGHI partner Family Health Ministries (FHM) is organizing the deployment of six medical relief teams in the next month and a half. The teams will be flying into Port-Au-Prince on commercial flights and then living and working in FHM's Blanchard Clinic, which is located on the outskirts of devastated city.
 Dates of Trips
2/28 - 3/6 3/7 - 3/13 3/14 - 3/20 3/21 - 3/27 3/28 - 4/3 4/11 - 4/17
Cost of trip:
$900 + flight
Read about the experiences of FHM's medical team that has just returned to the United States. Duke physicians Dr. Nicole Larrier, and Dr. Jim Snapper (above) were members of this most recent team.
Divinity School Volunteers Pack Food for Children in Developing Countries
The Duke Divinity School is recruiting volunteers to help package food this month for shipment to orphanages and school feeding programs in developing countries. It's part of the school's participation in the Raleigh-based international campaign "Stop Hunger Now: Operation Sharehouse" during this Lent.
 Before Feb. 28, the Divinity School needs 60 people to pledge to help package the Operation Sharehouse meals. Packers commit to fast at least one meal a week during Lent, contribute the money saved for packaging costs, and attend the packing event Saturday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to noon at The Divinity School. The school's goal is to raise at least $40 from each packer in money saved from fasting one meal a week, the equivalent of $1 a day for the 40 days of Lent, to cover packaging costs.
The Divinity School's overall goal is to package and send at least 20,000 meals.
"Stop Hunger Now, Operation Sharehouse" uses volunteers to package food - dehydrated, fortified rice-soy meals especially formulated for the undernourished - and ships it to children in developing countries. In its first year of operation, 5,200 volunteers packaged 1.7 million meals. More than half of these meals have been shipped to Nicaragua, Belize, Kenya and Haiti, which is receiving extra aid following January's devastating earthquake. The remaining meals, which have a shelf life of three to five years, are designated for Guatemala, Bolivia, Liberia, Palestine, and India.
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Faculty News and Funding
DGHI's Sumi Ariely Presents at PACE Conference
DGHI Student Projects Coordinator Dr. Sumi Ariely presented at the 2010 Pathways to Achieving Civic Engag ement (PACE) Conference at Elon University last Wednesday. Ariely, along with Cloe Liparini from DukeEngage and Liz Henderson from the Office of Community Affairs, discussed preparation and engagement before, during and after student fieldwork experiences in "Engagement, Health and Learning: Three Program Approach to Service Preparation and Reentry." By examining programs that include student fieldwork and research, voluntary service placements and traditional service-learning, it encourages campus-wide collaboration and integration of research and service into project scope. Learn more about the PACE Conference.
Funding Opportunities
DGHI Request for Proposals: Gender, Poverty and Health Research
The Duke Global Health Institute invites proposals of up to $25,000 a year for up to two years, for pilot research on the intersection of gender, poverty/class, and health. Smaller proposals for shorter periods are also encouraged. Application deadline is March 5. Read more >> Center Seed Grant Request for Proposals
The China International Center for Chronic Disease Prevention will award approximately 5 seed research grants to investigators in our Center network. The purposes of the seed grants are 1) to encourage innovative research projects with the potential for funding for larger-scale studies, and 2) to establish tangible platforms for collaborations, fellowship training, and capacity building between international and Chinese organizations in our network.Deadline to apply is June 30. Read more >>
Center for AIDS Research - Request for Applications
The Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is committed to the ongoing support of innovative lines of research that have great promise to further the success of more comprehensive research proposals that will advance the field. These grants provide $25,000-$40,000 to support the development of preliminary data that will serve as the basis of subsequent independent research applications for extramural support. Deadline is April 5. Read more >>
NEW! Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Call for Proposals
The Polio Research Committee (PRC) identifies unmet research needs, directs research, and assists in identifying investigators and designing studies to answer unanswered research questions in the fight to end polio. The PRC is currently soliciting research proposals with particular focus on:1) Understanding mucosal immunity in India 2) Addressing low vaccine coverage in Nigeria. Deadline March 30. Read more >>
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For additional faculty opportunities, click here. |
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DGHI Funding for Fieldwork Projects
DGHI is accepting funding applications for fieldwork opportunities in global health, whether it be one of 18 DGHI projects, or other global health projects that students develop independently. Applications are due March 5 for general fieldwork grants and the new Aalok S. Modi Global Health Fieldwork Fund. See instructions on How to Apply >>
CDC-Hubert Global Health Fellowship
The CDC-Hubert Global Health Fellowship, endowed by the O.C. Hubert Charitable Trust, is designed to encourage students to think of public health in a global context. The fellowship provides an opportunity for third- and fourth-year medical and veterinary students to gain population health experience in an international setting. Deadline is February 19. Read more >>
NEW! Clinton Global Initiative University - 3rd Annual Meeting
The third annual Clinton Global Initiative University meeting will bring together students, university presidents, and national youth organizations to create and implement Commitments to Action across five Global Challenge Areas : Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health. This year's meeting will be held from April 16-18th. Deadline is February 22. Read more >>
NEW! Global Aid Summer Internship
Global Aid is seeking undergraduate students to improve health care in developing countries through hands on experience. Students from the Business School, Medical School, Liberal Arts majors, Pre-Med, and Engineering School students are encouraged to apply. Read more >>
Job Opportunities
NEW! DGHI Research Assistant Opportunity
Looking for an RA to work with Manoj Mohanan (DGHI) on a new project on improving delivery of maternal and child health services in India. The main task of the RA would be to conduct literature reviews on measures of perinatal morbidity, with a focus on methods and tools that have been employed in large population based studies. Read more >>
NEW! Research Assistant Positions in Global Health and Technology Access Program
The Program on Global Health and Technology Access at the Sanford School of Public Policy is currently looking for two to three student research assistants to assist with various projects this spring and this summer. The GHTA Program explores issues of globalization and health equity, particularly regarding how to maximize the impact of health technologies in resource-poor settings. Read more >>
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February 17, 2010 » 4:30-6 pm
Perkins Library Room 217
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February 18, 2010 » 7:30-9 am
NC Biotechnology Center, Congressional Conference Room
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February 18, 2010 » 3:30-5 pm
Perkins Library, Breedlove Room
DGHI/DuPRI Seminar: "Education and Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Kenya" - Michael Kremer, Harvard University
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February 18, 2010 » 12:20-1:20 pm
Westbrook 0015, Duke Divinity School
February 26, 2010 » 2 pm
The William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center, Chapel Hill
31st Annual Minority Health Conference
March 2, 2010 » 5-6:15 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, Room 240
March 3, 2010 » 12-1 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, Room 240
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March 3, 2010 » 7-9 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, Room 240
March 4, 2010 » 5:30-7 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, Room 240
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March 4, 2010 » 11:30 am- 12:45 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, Room 240
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March 5, 2010 » 8 am- 2:30 pm
Durham Marriot Convention Center
View more upcoming events. |
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"Gates Pledge $10B to Fund Vaccinations"
with comments from DGHI Associate Director of Research Dr. John Bartlett
-- The Chronicle
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with comments from Global Health Certificate Student Chrissy Booth
-- The Chronicle
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