The Latest News from VIGH

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).

Our friend and colleague, Fastone Goma, M.D., Ph.D., was recently appointed to professorship of Physiology and Cardiovascular Health at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in Lusaka.

VIGH affiliated faculty member Brian L. Heuser, Ed.D., M.T.S., recently received the Thomas Jefferson Award "for distinguished service to Vanderbilt through extraordinary contributions as a member of the faculty in the councils and government of the university" at the Vanderbilt Fall Faculty Assembly on August 23. Dr.

This month, VIGH faculty members and anesthesiologists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) traveled to Liberia to evaluate medical education and training initiatives. 

The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health’s Education and Training team was fortunate to have four exceptional interns this summer. Interns Sharo Costa and Hope Wiggs, M.Ed. candidates in the International Education Policy and Management program, shared their experiences this summer. Their work focused on collaborating to create curricular materials, including lesson plans, presentations, and activities, as well as monitoring and evaluation tools for a mentorship program with VIGH’s partner faculty at the University of Zambia.

Carolyn Audet, Ph.D.

  In partnership with the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), faculty and staff from the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) led a 10-day grant writing workshop in Maputo, Mozambique to train Mozambican health professionals on techniques to strengthen and improve their grant proposals.

Sarah Heerboth, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Class of 2019 (expected), recently wrote an article reflecting on her experience working with Lwala Community Alliance in Kenya. Sarah worked at Lwala for her Integrated Science Course (ISC): Global Health, a research immersion course for third- and fourth-year medical students. 

Two Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnae have been named 2018-2019 Global Health Corps (GHC) Fellows. Grace Umutesi, M.P.H. and Shellese Shemwell, M.P.H. will both work in Rwanda during the upcoming year. Umutesi will serve as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Officer with Health Development Initiative, and Shemwell has been named Integrated NCD Program Quality Improvement Coordinator with Partners in Health/Inshuti Mu Buzima.

This week, VIGH hosted visitors from Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to attend the VIGH Transdisciplinary Program for Strengthening Clinical Trial Regulation Capacity. The goal of this program was to build capacity of NAFDAC and NACA staff for clinical trial regulation and oversight of clinical trial protocols. NAFDAC, Nigeria's local equivalent of the U.S.

​VIGH Director Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H., was awarded the Amos Christie Chair at a ceremony on April 25. At this event, Dr. Trevathan and seven other faculty members were named to endowed chairs.