Emory Global Health Connections - Fall 2022

IN THIS ISSUE:

• EGHI Hosts InFocus: Emory Excellence in Global Health
• Rapid Response Fund Closes Gaps in Urgent Field Research
• New Global Health Partnership Promotes Bilateral Exchange and Equity
• IANPHI Signs Historic Agreement with WHO
• Intramural Emory Global Health Case Competition Deadline Approaching

EGHI Hosts InFocus: Emory Excellence in Global Health

Student flourishing, faculty eminence, and research excellence—these core principles of the Emory 2036 campaign were on proud display Nov. 16 at EGHI’s InFocus: Emory excellence in global health event.

More than 80 students, faculty, staff, partners, supporters, and friends of EGHI gathered in Convocation Hall for the event, emceed by author and philanthropist Cammie Wolf Rice.  

Dr. Rebecca Martin, EGHI Director, welcomed guests by saying, “We are here to learn from each other, to share our knowledge and experience in serving humanity through global health photography, research, and innovation.” 

The event highlighted EGHI’s student programs—including the EGHI Global Health Student Photography Contest and the EGHI Field Scholars—and featured the launch of the Jeffrey P. Koplan Global Health Award.

Jeffrey P. Koplan Global Health Award: Named in honor of EGHI founder, global health leader, and former CDC Director Dr. Jeff Koplan, this award endowment celebrates innovative students, faculty, or staff at Emory University as they lead change in a relentless pursuit to impact global health through their work.

This year’s winner is Manoj Jain, MD, Adjunct Assistant Professor within the School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health and co-founder of the Collaboration to Eliminate Tuberculosis Among Indians (CETI). Dr Jain, working with CETI, is credited with boosting the rates of TB diagnosis and treatment in high-burden, underserved communities in India via a proven, low-cost, scalable Plan-Do-Study-Act model.

TB notification improvement was evaluated by district, with the following results:

• 437 districts completed PDSA Boosting TB Notification Training
• 55 percent of participating districts demonstrated improvement over the intervention period

Dr. Jain accepted the Jeffery P. Koplan Global Heath Award virtually, as he was in India doing the work for which he was being recognized at the EGHI InFocus event.

EGHI Global Health Student Photography Contest Exhibition and Winners: For more than a decade, local businessman, Bob Yellowlees, has provided financial support for this contest, which was his vision when it launched in 2008. Emory students—from anywhere in the University community—submit photographs that they have personally taken and that document a public health, healthcare, or global health challenge occurring anywhere in the world.

Of the more than 70 entries in 2022, five were selected as winners, as well as two honorable mentions, by an expert panel of judges who scored photos based on four criteria (connection, storytelling, technical merit, cultural representation).  

At the intersection of art and science, the EGHI contest provides a creative way for students to express how they see and understand global health—the people, places, and ideas. Student winners received cash prizes and will see their photographs displayed at the Emory’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts in January 2023.

2022 Contest Winners

“All We’ve Known is War” / Ethiopia / by Amanda Dorsey / A series of conflicts have left children no strangers to war and psychological, physical, and structural consequences. Still, they are playful at heart, as seen through Amanda’s lens.

“I Am a Little Physician” / Indonesia / by Sartiani Bili / An Indonesian girl practicing taking the temperature of her classmate. They laugh because they are ticklish, learn about how to check for fever, and listen to each other’s dreams about their futures.

“Volcanic Gases Decimate Forest” / Nicaragua / by Lucas San Miguel — Unexpected changes in wind pushed dangerous gases through a forest in Granada, decimating the terrain, harming the fragile ecosystem, and putting the health of nearby communities at risk.

“The Powerful Nutmeg” / Zanzibar, Tanzania / by Claire Castellano — Nutmeg is more than the spice we use for pumpkin pie; it is powerful in many cultures. On Zanzibar, every layer is used from the central seed ground to a powered spice, to the outer rubbery, red covering, which is used in pickling. The man holding the seed described how it is used in their culture to help babies stop crying and inspire women to dance.

“These Hooves” / Pakistan / by Anisa Iqbal —The cart pulled by a cow, the motorcycle-based rickshaw, and the horse-drawn cart are key modes of transport and commerce in Lahore. A month of income can be lost to a lame leg in a place where the supply chain relies largely on hooves.

“Baby Turtle Stops to Rest” / Nicaragua / by Lucas San Miquel — Sea turtles, like this Olive-Ridley, help keep oceans healthy by maintaining coral reef ecosystems and controlling jellyfish populations.

“The Broken Bridge” / India / by Ketki Joshi — Corruption interrupted construction of this bridge, cutting-off access to the mainland for a district that is frequently isolated from the mainland by monsoon rains—and sees the community’s health suffer as a result.

EGHI Field Scholars Program Team Projects: The event also featured the Field Scholars Program, which for 15 years has allowed students to conduct research and experience bidirectional knowledge-sharing with partner organizations and students from around the world.

This multidisciplinary research program provides an experiential learning opportunity for students interested in global health research. As part of an interdisciplinary team, led by Emory faculty, students collaborate with their peers from other countries and work within communities to understand and address a global health challenge. 

In 2022, seven teams comprised of students from across Emory schools focused on the following research topics in eight countries: reproductive health, HIV/AIDS services, disaster preparedness, breast cancer prevention, maternal and child health, and quality improvement in health care facilities.

The 2022 teams presented posters at the EGHI InFocus event, sharing their research with attendees.

Rapid Response Fund Closes Gaps in Urgent Field Research

As we see a continued, increasing need for urgent preparedness and response work around the world, it is important that global health leaders be equipped to act quickly. That’s why the Emory Global Health Institute created the Rapid Response Fund, which provides Emory faculty with financial support for urgent, short-term, and multidisciplinary global health research or programmatic work.

Dr. Uriel Kitron, PhD, MPH, is part of a team led by Saria Hassan, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Emory School of Medicine. Their EGHI-funded project focuses on reducing morbidity and mortality following natural disasters in Mozambique.

The team develops tools and uses data to strengthen disaster preparedness and response systems to protect health and save lives during emergencies, an understudied area of research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). “Weaker health systems in LMICs contribute to communities suffering disproportionately from the health impacts of climate change,” the team wrote in its project description.

Mozambique has been hit repeatedly by droughts, floods, and devastating cyclones that impact all aspects of population health, including infectious and non-communicable diseases. “We were drawn to the opportunity to combine our expertise to help address the challenge of a rapid response in Mozambique, a country highly susceptible to natural disasters,” said Dr. Kitron, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at Emory University.

The team includes Vanio Mugabe, Guilherme de Sousa Ribeiro, and Eduardo Samo Goudo. Country partners include Universidade Licungo, QueLimane/Mozambique Faculdadede Ciencia se Technologia; Faculdade Medicinada Bahia, Universidade Federalda Bahia Instituto Gonzalo Moniz, Fundaco Oswaldo Cruz; and Instituto Nacionalde Saudede Mozambique.

In the program, selected teams receive up to $10,000 for a period of up to 12 months. 

New Global Health Partnership Promotes Bilateral Exchange and Equity

Emory University signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gandhi Medical College and Collaboration for Elimination of Tuberculosis among Indians (CETI) that will lead to bi-directional knowledge sharing; collaboration for the elimination of TB and other infectious diseases in India; training and certificate courses to support medical education, research and innovation; and bilateral student and faculty exchange opportunities between Emory University and Gandhi Medical College.

Jeffrey P. Koplan Award-winner and Emory University Professor, Dr. Manoj Jain, and Emory Vice President for Global Health and EGHI Director, Dr. Rebecca Martin represented Emory University at the signing event. Dr. Arvind Rai, Dean of Gandhi Medical College, and Commodore Raman Arora of CETI represented their organizations at the MOU signing. Eshri Vishwas Sarang, Honorable Minister of Medical Education for the state of Madhya Pradesh, presided over the event, which took place in Bhopal, State of Madhya Pradesh, India on November 21, 2022. 

IANPHI Signs Historic Agreement with WHO

The International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed an historic memorandum of understanding in October, solidifying how they will work together to enhance national public health institutes’ capacities, sustainability, and impact.  

"Today’s agreement is a historic moment for both organizations,” said Prof. Duncan Selbie, President of IANPHI, at the signing event with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. “IANPHI, with its member national public health institutes, looks forward to this agreement making a real difference to the public’s health."

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO, and Prof. Duncan Selbie, IANPHI, present the signed agreement.

Together, IANPHI and WHO will leverage each other’s capacities to strengthen essential public health capacities and emergency preparedness at national levels and ultimately promote and protect the health and well-being of people. 

WHO issued the press statement, "International Association of National Public Health Institutes partners with WHO," marking this historic milestone.

Intramural Emory Global Health Case Competition Deadline Approaching

Applications are open for the 2023 Intramural Emory Global Health Case Competition.

With prizes totaling $7,000, this event connects students from diverse fields across all nine schools at Emory University to address a global health challenge.

Multidisciplinary student teams work together for a week to analyze a case challenge and develop a comprehensive programmatic solution to a real-world problem.

The winning team from this Emory intramural case competition will represent Emory University in March of 2023 in the Emory Morningside Case Competition, which includes teams from universities around the world.

The application deadline is December 7.  Learn more and apply today.