Written by Ashley Bardon, Isheeta Gupta, Aryan Kumar, Danielle Serota, and Brenna Simmons
Another successful annual Global Health Week culminated with a “Meet the Experts” Student Social. An impressive turnout of 109 students from across WashU heard presentations from distinguished faculty experts and discussed research with Mark Manary, Caline Mattar, Emmanuel Tetteh, Mark Huffman, Anubha Agarwal, Angela Brown, Lisa de las Fuentes, Zainab Mahmoud, Jessica Levy, Angela Hobson, Joe Steensma, Lindsay Underhill, Mitra Naseh, Nhial Tutlam, Christine O’Brien, and Juliet Iwelunmor. Students engaged in valuable networking opportunities and interdisciplinary exchanges. Diverse faculty expertise, spanning from nutrition and infectious diseases to climate change and health equity, provided students with comprehensive insights into global health challenges and opportunities.
The gathering represented more than just a social event; it also served as a crucial platform for connecting the next generation of global health professionals with established experts in the field. The strong turnout and engagement highlighted the WashU community’s commitment to addressing global health challenges through cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Professor of Medicine, Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, delivered the inspiring presentation, “Hope and Hurdles with Sustaining Global Health Research”. Iwelunmor took the audience on a journey through her own failures and successes in her research career, aiming to inspire others to persist through the challenges and obstacles of grant writing. Through her own global health journey, Iwelunmor continues to remind herself of her ‘scars’ and her ‘why’. Reflecting on the quote from Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
Sustainability is how we realize the vision of excellence within research, so that the story of the hunt will also reflect the agony, the travail – the bravery, even, of the lions.
Juliet Iwelunmor, Professor of Medicine
The Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics, Mark Manary, MD, delivered a Pediatric Grand Rounds presentation, “Advances in the Management of Maternal Malnutrition”. He highlighted his work with Project Peanut Butter, which developed a ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to treat child malnutrition. His current research explores the impact of RUTFs in malnourished pregnant women in Sierra Leone which, in clinical trials, has demonstrated improved maternal nutrition and neonatal outcomes. Additionally, his research on breastfeeding practices among undernourished mothers revealed significant benefits for infant growth and mortality, reinforcing the importance of integrated approaches to maternal and child health in low-resource settings.
The success of the student social sets a promising foundation for future GHSAC initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world application in global health. It exemplified WashU’s dedication to fostering an environment where students can explore, connect, and contribute to the evolving landscape of global health solutions.
Jay Turner, DSc, MS, the James McKelvey Professor of Engineering Education, presented his work, “The Air Quality-Climate-Health Nexus in Central Asia”. Turner introduced research projects that his team has pursued in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. His research measures air quality and the effects of air pollution on population health. Specifically, Turner’s work has mapped and measured air pollution in urban areas and assessed exposure to children in kindergartens and hospitals. Turner gave a lively and engaging presentation, followed by an insightful Q&A session with the students, staff and faculty.
The Global Health Center and the Global Health Student Advisory Committee would like to thank all the students, faculty, and staff who helped make the 2024 Global Health Week a success! A special thank you to speakers: Juliet Iwelunmor, Mark Manary and Jay Turner, as well as all the faculty who joined us for the ‘Meet the Experts’ event.