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November 29, 2011
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Duke Students Collaborate with Kenyan Students in Twinning Program
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Nicole Georggi
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Alexandra Kyerematen
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DGHI graduate students now have the chance to collaborate with students from Kenya on global health research this year, thanks to a new program by the Duke Global Health Institute and partner institution Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. The Duke University/Moi University Comparative Health Research Twinning Program, developed and led by DGHI faculty member Wendy O'Meara. It brings together faculty advisors from Duke and Moi University to support two DGHI global health master's students and two Moi University public health master's students engaged in research on a health topic across the two communities. A Duke student and a Moi University student will be paired together on a project, and they will conduct research in both locations. "One of the real opportunities made possible by the twinning model - twinning of both faculty and students - is for students to be mentored by both North American and Kenyan faculty and for the development of a peer-mentorship relationship between the students," said O'Meara, who is based in Eldoret. "Students will engage in research together in both contexts and these relationships will deepen and accelerate the cross-cultural learning process. The comparative health aspect embraces what we really mean by global health-what can we learn from each other to improve the health of both of our communities." This spring, Duke Master of Science in Global Health (MSc-GH) student Nicole Georggi will collaborate with a Moi University student to investigate the health needs of pastors in the United Methodist Church in the US and the Methodist Church in Kenya. DGHI faculty member Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell and Eunice Kamaara at Moi University will be faculty advisors for the research project. Alexandra Kyerematen, also a student in the Duke Master of Science in Global Health program, will be working with a Moi public health student to understand the challenges related to HIV care for women in rural North Carolina and rural Kenya. They will work under the leadership of DGHI faculty member Lynne Messer and Lukoye Atwole at Moi University.
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Students To Teach House Course in Global Health
Two biomedical engineering students with an interest in global health will teach a course on intellectual property this spring. The half-credit house course, which is taught by students for students under faculty supervision, will  give undergraduates an introduction to the driving forces that impact the availability of and access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries.
While medicines help in treating individuals, the availability of these products is controlled by complex interactions between law, business, economics, policy and medicine. Sponsored by the Duke Global Health Institute, "Intellectual Property and Global Public Health" will present a variety of public policy, global health, human rights, scientific and industry perspectives on the topic of intellectual property. With such a multidisciplinary approach, student course instructors Ruvi Chauhan and Rahul Nayak hope it will expand student perceptions of global health.
"Global health is more than running a clinic in Ecuador or handing out medical supplies. If changes are made to patent law, it can change the way people produce these materials and how they are accessed, so there is potential for long-term impact in a non-clinical way," said Chauhan. "Once you start learning about its impact and what it means to have a lack of access to medicines because of certain constraints, it changes your perspective. We are excited to present these ideas to students, and we hope they feel empowered to get involved with this area in global health."
Chauhan is a senior pursuing the global health certificate and serves on the DGHI Student Council; Nayak is a junior who is also studying economics. Both are active with the Duke chapter of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and are eager to share this important topic with their peers.
DGHI Adjunct Assistant Professor Jason Cross is the faculty advisor for the undergraduate house course.
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Paul Farmer to Discuss Latest Book, Post-Earthquake Haiti, Dec. 3
Humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer will discuss his latest book, "Haiti After the Earthquake," from 3-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in Duke University Bryan Center's Reynolds Theater.
Duke professors Laurent Dubois and Deborah Jenson will moderate the event, which is free and open to the public.  Farmer will sign copies of his book following the talk.
Farmer is a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees, the Duke Global Health Institute Board of Advisors and is founding director of Partners in Health (PIH). PIH is a Boston-based charitable organization dedicated to providing "direct health care services and undertakes research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty." Farmer and PIH were instrumental in providing care and support following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Farmer is also a professor at Harvard University and chair of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. He was the subject of the Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World."
Farmer received his undergraduate degree from Duke and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Harvard.
The talk is co-sponsored by several Duke units: the Office of the Provost, Franklin Humanities Institute, Sanford School of Public Policy and the Duke Global Health Institute.
The event will be streamed live. You can also follow the event on Twitter at #DukeLive.
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Global Obesity
 As obesity goes global, interdisciplinary Duke scholars study the social, political and economic influences
By Duke Today
Weight is a moral force, said medical anthropologist Harris Solomon. In his research on obesity, he aims to complicate the questions, rather than risk missing important issues by oversimplifying. "Who has the authority to tell you what to eat, how you enjoy it, how to be healthy? Why is there a certain ideal thin body that we should all aspire to, and how is that getting circulated globally?"
Newly appointed to a joint assistant professorship with Duke's cultural anthropology department and the Duke Global Health Institute, Solomon said the language we use to talk about a problem and the context in which we frame it can sometimes obscure the real problems and lead frontline medical workers to erroneous conclusions. Nobody makes moral judgments about an arthritis patient. But when it comes to people with diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic ailments associated with obesity, insinuations of personal responsibility color the discussion.
Solomon studies the relationship among food, health and consumerism. He was drawn to Duke by the university's reputation for interdisciplinarity. In understanding global health, ethnography -- the science of contextualization -- can be a powerful element to drawing accurate conclusions and forming effective solutions, he said.
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