GKII Bolstering Local Capacity for Infectious Diseases Research

Several JHU faculty traveled to India recently to mark the establishment of a new laboratory at the YRG Care Suniti Solomon Center in Chennai, India. We are enormously proud to support the lab, made possible through generous contributions from GKII Advisory Board members Raj and Kamla Gupta, Maureen Sherry, and Steven Klinsky. The lab will serve as a pivotal hub for cutting-edge research on infectious diseases, driving innovation, and pioneering new prevention and treatment strategies.

Delivering Innovative Systems Thinking Training to IAS Officers at LBSNAA

On July 3, 2024, representatives from GKII and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted a Friday Night at the Emergency Room (FNER) simulation training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). This innovative collaboration, delivered as part of LBSNAA’s Mid-Career Training Program, engaged 83 IAS officers who have completed 10-15 years of service, aiming to enhance systems thinking capabilities in public health and beyond.

GKII Hosts Women STEM Consultation Workshop with Higher Education Institutions

Convened at the Indiana University India Gateway Office in New Delhi, GKII hosted the first consultation workshop with the US State Department representatives and higher education partners on June 15th, under the aegis of the US India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment. The group discussed key gaps and potential solutions to address participation among girls and women participation in STEM fields, particularly in Research and Development.

Nilanjan Chatterjee Hosts Esteemed P.C. Maholanobis Lecture

Dr. Nilanjan Chatterjee was recently invited to give the annual P.C. Maholanobis Lecture hosted by the Reserve Bank of India as part of the celebration of the National Statistics Day. The P.C Maholanobis lecture has been given by celebrated economists, mathematicians and statisticians, including multiple Nobel Laureates. Dr. Chatterjee gave a lecture on methodology and applications for integrating different data sources for building predictive models for individualized health.

Professor Maholanobis is considered to be the founder of statistics and the Indian Statistical Institute in India, and the leader of the economic development plan for post-independence India.

JHU School of Medicine Course Prepares Health Professionals to Tackle Infectious Diseases

Led by Maunank Shah, MD, PhD, and convened in Delhi, the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine recently held a two and a half day Intensive Course on Infectious Diseases in Primary Care. Addressing need for continuing medical education on infectious diseases among health professionals in India, the course brought together Johns Hopkins faculty and esteemed infectious disease specialists from India to instruct clinicians and health care professionals on infectious diseases commonly encountered from outpatient clinics to emergency departments to hospitals, and to offer clinical decision-making opportunities to advance learning. Participants received a certification of completion from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine at the end of the course.

Hopkins Engineering Exploratory Program (HEEP) –Take Two!

HEEP attracts top undergraduate talent from India and around the globe to Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Campus. In its second iteration, HEEP received more than 800 applications, with numerous participants from India. GKII’s Beth Romanski and Student Ambassador Ishir Sharma engaged with the cohort from India, sharing our work to deepen engagement between India and JHU.

JOHNS HOPKINS NEWS

Tamil Nadu, Johns Hopkins University Sign MoU for Diabetes Management

Times of India, July 14, 2024

The Tamil Nadu state health department will study the prevention and management of diabetes in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, health minister Ma. Subramanian announced. The minister, who recently returned from the US, said the university has been actively involved in research on diabetes prevention and treatment. "We have signed an MoU with the university for a research collaboration," he stated.

Why India Has So Many Drugs With Dangerously Similar Names

Global Health Now, July 10, 2024

India’s $50 billion pharmaceutical industry supplies drugs across the globe, but flimsy regulation in the domestic market allows countless easily confused drug names with no system for tracking the problem, says Dinesh Thakur, a public health activist and co-author of The Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulation in India. Thakur, who has spent the past decade advocating for tighter drug safety regulations, spoke with GHN about dangerously similar drug names in India and how they symbolize wider problems in the country’s regulatory system.

Johns Hopkins Receives Transformative Bloomberg Philanthropies Investment in Financial Aid for Future Generations of Doctors, Nurses, and Research Pioneers

The Hub, July 8, 2024

Thanks to new $1 billion financial aid gift, most medical students will now attend Johns Hopkins tuition-free, and many will receive additional support to cover living expenses. Financial aid for nursing, public health, and other graduate programs will ensure access for top talent from middle-class and low-income backgrounds.

WHATS NEW IN RESEARCH

Integrated domestic violence and reproductive health interventions in India: a systematic review

Reproductive Health, June 29, 2024

Interventions in India for domestic violence that are integrated with reproductive health care remain few, and there are fewer with effective outcomes for domestic violence. Of those with effective outcomes, all of the interventions utilized psychoeducation/education, skill building, and counseling as part of the intervention.

Sabri B, Mani SS, & Kaduluri VPS.

Direct and indirect estimation of adolescent sexual intercourse and contraceptive use in Rajasthan India: an application of the best friend methodology

BMC Womens Health, June 27, 2024

Existing estimates of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) behaviors may be a gross undercount given the sensitivity of this behavior in Indian culture. The objective of this study was to estimate ASRH behaviors in Rajasthan, India, using direct questions and the best friend approach that seeks to reduce social desirability bias.

Bell SO, Ahmad D, Khanna A, Thomas HL, Moreau C.

HIV self‐testing in India: implementation and qualitative evaluation of a web‐based programme with virtual counsellor support

Journal of the International AIDS Society, June 27, 2024

Web‐based HIVST services with tailored support appeared to facilitate HIV service access and engagement of harder‐to‐reach populations across India. Assistance from a community‐oriented counsellor proved important to overcome literacy barriers and mistrust  in order to support the HIVST process and service linkage. Learnings can inform global efforts to improve the critical step of diagnosis in achieving epidemic control for HIV and other infectious diseases.

Kaptchuk RP, Thakker J, Bell J, Okram S, Gopinath U, Mehta SH, Reddy AK, Loeb TA, Arumugam V, Tandon S, Parthasarathy MR, Ghosh SC, Singh A, Joshi DS, KaurS, Solomon SS, McFall AM.

Representation of International Medical Graduates Among Diagnostic Radiology Chairs, Neuroradiology Chiefs, and Program Directors

Academic Radiology, June 12, 2024

The number of international medical graduates (IMGs) entering radiology residencies and neuroradiology fellowships averaged 9.7% and 20.9% from 2021 to 2023, respectively. We aimed to determine whether IMG graduates are populating leadership roles at a proportionate rate in diagnostic radiology (DR) and neuroradiology.

Firouzabadi FD, Hesami M, Sheikhy A, Radmard M, Dabiri M, Ramezanpour S, Yousem DM.

Identifying measures for coverage of nutrition-sensitive social protection programs: Learnings from India

Maternal and Child Nutrition, June 12, 2024

Optimal child growth requires a combination of nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions in the first 1,000 days. There is limited guidance on how to measure the population-level coverage of nutrition-sensitive social protection (NSSP), which is designed with explicit nutrition goals and often provides food or cash transfers and co-coverage with nutrition and health intervention. In this study in India, we designed a questionnaire that captures seven core NSSP program elements.

Nguyen PH, Avula R, Neupane S, Akseer N, Heidkamp R.

OPEN FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Burroughs Wellcome Fund - Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH)

LOI Deadline: July 18, 2024

This program provides opportunities for assistant professors to bring multidisciplinary approaches to studying human infectious diseases. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of these encounters: how colonization, infection, commensalism, and other relationships play out at levels ranging from molecular interactions to systemic ones. PATH provides $505,000 over five years.

APHA Maternal Child Health Student Fellowship

Deadline: July 26, 2024

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) is currently accepting applications for the Student Fellows Program 2024-2025 cohort. Student Fellows will have the opportunity to attend the 2024 APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition, network with leaders in public health and MCH, and pursue leadership roles within the MCH Section.

Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program

Deadline for internal applications: August 5, 2024

The Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics is a career development award to enable junior faculty members to carry out innovative bioethics research. It supports research that goes beyond current work in bioethics to help resolve pressing ethical issues in clinical, biomedical, and public health decision-making, policy, and practice, and creates a community that enhances future bioethics research by Scholars and Alumni/ae. 

Global Science Summit Programme 2024

Deadline: August 8, 2024

The Global Science Summit Programme aims to explore the intersection between major global health and sustainability challenges through fostering scientific discoveries that address the combined impact of non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, climate change, and related enabling technologies. The purpose of the Global Science Summit Programme is to catalyze science-based solutions by supporting international interdisciplinary collaborations that address intersectional challenges.

Lietman Global Travel Grant for Residents and Fellows

Deadline: August 11, 2024

Lietman travel grants are available to Johns Hopkins-affiliated medical residents and fellows to facilitate rotations overseas in low- and middle-income countries. Applications from trainees who have independently identified a training elective overseas are preferred. Awards provide up to $3,500 to support travel- and other placement-related costs.

AIIS Fellowship Competition

Deadline: Nov. 15, 2024

The American Institute of Indian Studies has announced its 2024 fellowship competition and invites applications from scholars who wish to conduct their research in India. Junior fellowships are awarded to Ph.D. candidates to conduct research for their dissertations in India for up to eleven months. Senior fellowships are awarded to scholars who hold the Ph.D. degree for up to nine months of research in India. AIIS welcomes applicants from a wide variety of disciplines, especially encourages applicants in fields from Development Studies, Natural Resources Management, Public Health, and Regional Planning.

JHU JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Senior Research Program Manager: CIDI

Housed in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Center for Infectious Diseases in India (CIDI) is seeking a Sr. Research Program Manager to be part of the Baltimore-based team to manage faculty research portfolios.

NEWS OF NOTE

USAID is Redefining Mental Health in Foreign Assistance

USAID Global Health, July 16, 2024

USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Dr. Atul Gawande launched the position paper at the event, “Mental Health is Health: Redefining Mental Health in Foreign Assistance," where he held fireside chats with U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, and Carol Manyele, Grassroots Soccer, on how the U.S. government is prioritizing mental health domestically and internationally.

8 Indian Students Awarded Global Citizen Scholarships For Singapore And Bangalore Programmes

The Free Press Journal, July 5, 2024

Global Indian International School (GIIS) has announced the recipients of the coveted Global Citizen Scholarship (GCS). This year, eight Indian students and five students from other South Asian countries have been selected to study in Singapore for two years under this programme. Additionally, four students have been chosen for two years of studies in Bangalore, as reported by Shiksha.

Indiaspora’s First Impact Report Showcases Stellar Contributions of Indian Diaspora in the U.S. and Beyond

American Kahani, June 21, 2024

Indiaspora, in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group, launched its first Impact Report titled “Small Community, Big Contributions, Boundless Horizons,” showcasing the stellar contributions of the Indian diaspora in the U.S.and beyond. The report is a catalog of the achievements of the prominent Indian diaspora with many narratives weaved in showcasing their inspiring work and the diaspora’s mammoth impact across economic, scientific, social, cultural, and civic dimensions.

Ignorance and Apathy: Why One Indian Woman Dies of Cervical Cancer Every 7 mins

Behan Box, June 16, 2024

In 2023, 123,000 Indian women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 80,000 of them died. India bears one-fifth of the global burden of cervical cancer and the highest number of deaths. Every seven minutes, one woman dies of cervical cancer in India. Yet, screening rates remain abysmal, the HPV vaccine available for more than two decades is yet to be included in India’s free vaccination programme and there is very little awareness about the disease.

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