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October 11, 2011
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Greetings!
At DGHI, we talk a lot about building capacity. Whether it's building the capacity of our students, faculty or international partners , we aim to find ways to make a positive and sustainable difference through our research, training and partnerships. One concrete example of capacity building is today's feature story from Tanzania.
Frequent readers know about the MEPI grant to strengthen medical education in Tanzania. Through this grant, DGHI has worked closely with KCMC to bring reliable, high-speed internet to the medical campus. By having access to the internet, medical students were able to take the National Board of Medical Examiners exam. (read more)
Why is this significant? It was the first time the exam had ever been administered on the African continent. How was it possible in a place where even electricity isn't reliable? It was possible because of partnership and a shared commitment of building capacity to create lasting change. It is yet another example of the very real advances we are making through collaboration and partnership. Until next week, Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI
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KCMC Trainees First to Take Medical Board Exam in Africa
Nearly 200 medical students at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania sat for the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examination this summer. It was the first time the officially-sanctioned test had been given on  the African continent. KCMC administered the test as part of the $10 million Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant awarded to KCMC and the Duke Global Health Institute in 2010. The grant expands the decades-long partnership between Duke and KCMC by training a new generation of Tanzanian physicians with the knowledge and tools to become their country's leaders in academics, research and policy. Lucy Killewo, KCMC learning management system specialist, and KCMC Dean Kien Mteta led efforts to administer the medical examination to 177 Tanzanian medical students this August. Over two sessions, second-year KCMC medical students were tested on their knowledge of basic sciences, including anatomy and embryology, and fifth-year medical students were tested on internal medicine principles. The test was given to gauge the knowledge of KCMC medical students against the internationally-recognized exam, which is required for practicing medicine in the U.S. As part of MEPI, leaders at KCMC and DGHI are working together to strengthen the medical education curriculum, tailored to health priorities in Africa. "What we want to be able to do is measure the success of MEPI interventions over time, so this establishes a baseline for us to work from," said John Bartlett, DGHI associate director for research and co-principal investigator of the grant. "Using this standardized test is one way in which we'll hopefully see improvements in scores over time, and test results will allow us to guide specific interventions in curricular areas that need improvement." 
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Pence Named Associate Director of Master of Science in Global Health
Brian Pence, assistant professor of community and family medicine and global health, has been appointed Associate Director of the Master of Science in Global Health (MSc-GH), a flagship graduate education program of the Institute. The program attracts students from diverse backgrounds and locations from around the world to study global health.
In his new role, Pence will lead curriculum development for the master's program, which includes guiding new course selection, defining competencies for global health  researchers and practitioners and evaluating the existing core curriculum. Pence, who is also a faculty member in the MSc-GH program, will assist with faculty and student recruitment.
Pence says he's very excited to take on the new role.
"This program under Dr. Chris Woods' leadership has established itself as having superb faculty, top-notch students, an important emphasis on fieldwork and applied research skills, and an interdisciplinary approach to training our global health leaders of tomorrow," said Pence. "As we enter the program's third year, it's an ideal time to take stock of what we have accomplished so far, and to do a detailed assessment to make sure we are equipping our graduates with all the skills and training they'll need to shape the global health agenda in the years ahead."
"We are so lucky to have Brian take on this new responsibility in the MSc-GH program," said Woods. "He is a gifted methodologist and educator who will inspire the next generation of global health scientists."
With an emphasis on building research skills in global health, the MSc-GH core curriculum consists of four courses which cover global health challenges, an introduction to epidemiologic methods, global health research design and practice, bioethics, and health systems in developing countries. Students also take electives from one of four specialized topic areas and conduct field research.
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14 New Members Join DGHI Student Council
 The Duke Global Health Institute welcomes 14 new students to the Student Council this fall who will work to enhance global health opportunities on campus and influence how the Institute can better serve the student body.
The DGHI Student Council has seen unprecedented interest with a record number of applications this semester. In its third year, the council now boasts 21 undergraduate and graduate students who represent nearly every school on campus, from medicine to public policy, to engineering and business.
The council got off to a great start with a special welcome from DGHI founding Director Michael Merson at the first meeting of the new semester.
"Dr. Merson gave us an excellent introduction, and we held a great brainstorming session about ways the SC can work to continue to grow awareness and work on global health by students," said Chris Paul, student council graduate chair. "Our main goal is to further the impact of DGHI across all parts of campus and improve links between students and programs."
The council is the official liaison between the DGHI and the student body. Student Council members serve a one-year term working closely with faculty, staff and the leadership of DGHI.
New members include Cheyenne Allenby, Manisha Bhattacharya, Ruvi Chauhan, Mark Dakkak, Lisa Deng, Jacob Kirkorowicz, Yee Kwan, Joy Liu, Rose Brittany Merola, Tara Porter, Victoria Shelus, Mukesh Singhal, Tara Steinmetz and Catherine Winn.
Returning members include Jeanne Cross, Jessica Hudson, Nimit Lad, Christopher Lam, Christopher Paul (graduate chair), Braveen Ragunanthan (undergraduate chair) and Nina Woolley.
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Duke to Evaluate Device to Treat Postpartum Hemorrhage
Haywood Brown, chair of the Duke Medical Center's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been awarded a two-year $474,375 grant from Cook Medical Incorporated to study the use of the Bakri Postpartum Balloon in the management of postpartum hemorrhage.
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide accounting for a quarter of maternal deaths, and as many as 60% of deaths in some low-resource settings. The Bakri Postpartum Balloon is a sterile, packaged balloon tamponade device which utilizes minimal additional equipment for placement during PPH, and Duke researchers are determining whether they may be optimal for use in low-resource settings. Recently, balloon tamponade devices have been successfully employed to treat PPH and can often circumvent the need for operative intervention, such as hysterectomies. Brown and his team anticipate a subsequent reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality in these settings with the use of the Bakri Postpartum Balloon.
Local Partner of CHPIR Named CNN Breakthrough Woman
DeVondia Roseborough has been honored as a CNN Breakthrough Woman for her efforts to fight HIV/AIDS by empowering young black women in North Carolina. Roseborough is an Access Coordinator with the Mecklenburg County Health Department, which is one of the Positive Charge Initiative key partners of the Duke Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research (CHPIR) and the North Carolina Community AIDS Fund.
To find out more about Roseborough and her inspirational work in North Carolina, watch the CNN story.
For more on the work of the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research, visit the website.
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