The Latest News from VIGH

"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.

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. 

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  

The UNZA-Vanderbilt Training Partnership for HIV-Nutrition-Metabolic Research (UVP) continues a longstanding training collaboration between the University of Zambia School of Medicine/University Teaching Hospital (UNZA/UTH), and the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH). Dr. Douglas Heimburger, Associate Director for Education and Training for VIGH and Dr. Selestine Nzala, Head, Department of Medical Education, University of Zambia School of Medicine serve as Principal Investigators.

2019 Global Health Case Competition

This year, the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Global Health Organization will present World Health Week during Monday, February 25 - Friday, March 1. World Health Week is committed to spreading awareness about global health, and this year's theme is "Global Health and Anesthesia." Events include lunchtime talks and a global health symposium one evening. Lunch is offered with RSVP. Download the flyer.

On Monday, January 21, M.P.H. candidate Sonya Reid-Lawrence, M.D. received the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award. This award is given to a faculty or staff member in the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, or Vanderbilt University Medical Center who emulates the principles of King through his or her work. The award was presented to Dr. Reid-Lawrence at the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture during the annual MLK celebration by Jana Lauderdale, Ph.D., R.N.

Last month, the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) hosted a global health education and training symposium for faculty representatives from faculties of medicine of Portuguese-speaking African (PALOP) countries. Faculty from universities located in three of the six PALOP countries attended as well as an affiliated faculty member from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  

Although mentoring is an important part of academic research, it is not common practice in many countries. In particular, many mentoring guidelines and strategies are tailored for high-income countries and lack appropriate approaches for mentoring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Research led by Vanderbilt investigators found nearly 40% of HIV-exposed infants in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) were not in care at 18 months of age or had died. Despite the availability and progress of HIV prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs which includes postpartum follow-up of HIV-positive mothers and their HIV-exposed infants, many infants do not remain engaged in early infant diagnosis (EID) services that are essential to optimal health outcomes.

Intensive Monitoring of Provider-Initiated Counseling & Testing (PICT) Performance Improves the Identification of People Living with HIV in Namacurra​

Mark Newton, M.D., FAAP, Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Director of Vanderbilt International Anesthesia, recently co-wrote an opinion piece for Devex, a media website for the global development community. The opinion piece focuses on the growing need of anesthesia providers across the world. In particular, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the fewest number of anesthesia providers.

In 2017, according to UNAIDS, more than 90% of HIV-positive pregnant women accessed antiretroviral (ART) medicines to prevent mother-to child transmission of HIV in Southern Africa, and recent research suggests access and adherence to ART remains high during pregnancy due in part to the scale up of national antenatal (ANC) and ART care clinics.  Engagement in HIV care after delivery, however, can be challenging.

Vanderbilt Medicine MD/MPH dual-degree candidate, Justin Banerdt, completed his fellowship year as a VECD Fogarty Global Health Fellow in July 2018. He spent his year conducting research focused on the prevalence and outcomes of delirium in a critically ill patient population with a high burden of HIV/AIDS at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia. UTH is the teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Zambia School of Medicine (UNZA).