The Latest News from VIGH

The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has been awarded a five-year, $1.2 million federal grant from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health to evaluate and build a research capacity program in implementation science and clinical trial management to address Ebola, Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) in Sierra Leone. The Partnership for Research in Emerging Viral Infections-Sierra Leone (PREVSL) will address gaps and improve existing research capacity at in-country partner institutions. 

Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has been awarded a five-year, $1.2 million renewal of its Mozambique Collaborative Research Ethics Education Program supported by the Fogarty International Center of the NIH. In Portuguese, the Formação Colaborativa em Etica na Pesquisa or FoCEP Program is tailored to Portuguese speaking Africa.

Zambézia increased the number of people living with HIV, achieving an undetectable viral load Twenty-seven year old Marcos Gabriel lives in Zambézia Province with his wife and three children. To earn his family’s daily bread he dedicates himself to mining, a job that demands health and strength.

New HIV Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) Point-of-Care (POC) device provides early diagnosis for children in Maganja da Costa District Nurse Jordina Moreira Photo credit: Mariana Lobo

"Mentors are teachers but not all teachers are mentors." Lackson Kasonka, Senior Mentor The next generation of global health researchers, scientists and practitioners are benefiting from a mentoring program at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in Lusaka with the help of colleagues from the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with support from the Fogarty International Center.

Last week Vanderbilt faculty and staff welcomed Adam Habib, Ph.D., M.Phil., vice chancellor and principal of University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) from Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Vanderbilt campus for discussions on partnership opportunities to create new, innovative programs and research initiatives.   

Vanderbilt welcomed Dr. Bernice Dahn, Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Liberia and former Minister of Health for Liberia, to campus on April 17. Dr. Dahn delivered a guest lecture entitled, "Building Health Systems: Lessons From Crisis." Drawing on her experience leading a country through and after an Ebola epidemic, she shared powerful lessons on the re-establishment of the Ministry of Health and the rebuilding of Liberia’s health care delivery system.  

The America Society for Nutrition (ASN) recently selected VIGH Core Faculty Member, Doug Heimburger, M.D., M.S., to be a member of the ASN Class of 2019 Fellows. Being inducted as a fellow of the ASN is the highest honor of the society. Dr. Heimburger has been an active member of the ASN for many years, and he will attend the Nutrition 2019 meeting in Baltimore in June. Congratulations. 

Guest Speaker Event Bernice T. Dahn, M.D., MPH Vice President for Health Sciences, University of Liberia Former Minister of Health for the Republic of Liberia “Building Health Systems: Lessons From Crisis” Wednesday, April 17, 2019 | noon to 1 p.m. Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt Wadlington Conference Room Lunch will be provided to the first 75 attendees.

When James Carlucci, MD, MPH, instructor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, is in Nashville he treats children at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. When he’s on one of the several trips he takes each year to Mozambique, he’s trying to understand when and why HIV-exposed infants fall out of care — and how to change it.

"Among people with HIV in Latin America, those diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at an initial clinic visit were about twice as likely to die within 10 years as people not initially diagnosed with TB, according to findings from a large observational study. This increased risk persisted despite the availability of TB treatment and mirrored patterns seen previously in HIV-negative populations, according to research supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

VIGH faculty, staff, and students presented at the 2019 Consortium of Universities in Global Health (CUGH) Conference on March 9-10 in Chicago. The 10th annual conference was focused on Translation and Implementation for Impact in Global Health. The VIGH team presented on a range of topics, from the development of a research methods for a nurse anesthetist program in Kenya to nutrition education outreach in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. 

Students in the spring semester of their second year of the Vanderbilt MPH program present their thesis to mentors, colleagues, fellow students, and guests. This year, the following students in the Global Health track will present their thesis findings. Presentations will take place in MPH Classroom #2600, Village at Vanderbilt (1500 21st Avenue South). See below for a list of Global Health students and their thesis topics. RSVP one week before the presentation(s) you wish to attend.  

Leocádia cooking in her backyard Photographer: Abú Choe