The UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine will host 80+ delegates and civilians from Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana on Tuesday, July 23, recognizing long-standing country partnerships that have advanced vital research and improved the health and wellbeing of African citizens. The visit will be part a week-long event known as “Operation Tar Heel Welcome,” to celebrate newly signed Africa State Partnerships with the North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) and N.C. State Government. The NCNG was awarded two of the state partnerships based on UNC’s extensive global health research, training and service, in Malawi (30+ years) and Zambia (15+ years).
The visit to Carolina will give Africa State Partners the chance to learn about ongoing global health research in their home countries–where discoveries and technological advancements are not only improving global health–they are reshaping healthcare practice to improve health in North Carolina.
A Global Health Program Designed For the Visitors Will Include:
1. Telepathology Demonstrations Using Digital Microscopy, Transforming Diagnosis in the Digital Age.
- HIV and AIDS-associated cancers present treatment challenges for physicians and a serious public health problem in nations with a high incidence of these cancers. Cancers initiated by viruses such as KSHV, EBV and HPV include Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and cervical cancer. All are more prevalent in individuals with HIV and AIDS.
- In 2011, a pathology lab in Kamuzu Central Hospital built upon a long-lasting collaboration between the Institute and Malawi’s Ministry of Health, became only the second pathology lab in the entire country. Employing telepathology using digital microscopy, the pathologists in Malawi began consulting with counterparts at UNC in real-time on a weekly basis. The lab provides training and research opportunities for Malawian and UNC health professionals with an interest in cancer.
- Bridging the distance between pathologists, telepathology conferences have had a dramatic impact on diagnostic accuracy for direct patient care and have supported successful implementation of clinical trials. This is a bi-directional collaboration centered on trainee development and education.
2. Point-of-Care Demonstrations to Determine Gestational Age, Obstetric Ultrasound On a Smartphone
- Establishing accurate gestational age with ultrasound early in pregnancy is essential to delivering high-quality care. Yet, the high cost for equipment and the need for trained sonographers limits its use in low-resource settings like in Africa.
- In rural parts of the U.S., including areas of North Carolina, people can face lengthy travel to access obstetric care with trauma centers and obstetric units closing. This means more births outside of hospitals, births in hospitals without OB care, and preterm births – all of which carry greater risks.
- Dr. Jeff Stringer has worked for the last decade on a revolutionary point-of-care handheld ultrasound device that can be used anywhere in the world. He will demonstrate how a deep-learning AI model can estimate gestational age using a point-of-care probe connected to a smartphone.
3. Infectious Disease Experts Guide Pathogen Preparedness, Regional Expertise in Civilian Biodefense
- For years, researchers with the Institute have been working with emerging pathogens in West Africa, with Lassa Fever, and Ebola, in Liberia. And this expertise recently led to UNC Hospitals becoming a designated treatment center for patients with highly infectious diseases.
- Should a civilian or a member of the military arrive at RDU Airport, or Fort Bragg, with a suspected pathogen, they would be transported to UNC Health and admitted to a special emerging pathogens treatment unit. UNC and Emory University are the only two Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers in the Southeast.
- Led by Dr. Billy Fischer and Dr. David Wohl, grants to establish the center came from the realization that infectious diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, and Monkeypox will likely pop up more frequently due to climate change. The two will talk about what they’ve been doing to train and educate staff, to certify the center under the guidance of the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Preparedness
The U.S. National Guard’s State Partnership Program (SPP) fosters enduring relationships between states, both domestically and internationally. These programs involve the pairing of a U.S. state’s National Guard with the military forces of a partner nation. Through joint training exercises, exchanges of personnel, and collaborative initiatives, state partnership programs facilitate the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and resources.
About the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases
The UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine is an engine for global health research and pan-university collaboration, transforming health in North Carolina and around the world. Our work started over 30 years ago with infectious disease physician-researchers studying HIV in China and Malawi, and soon expanded to nearly 50 countries, operating as the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases. In 2007, the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases was officially established to strengthen UNC’s interdisciplinary research and build on historic strengths in medicine and public health. Through the years, our work has saved millions of lives and shaped policy through evidence-based research around the world, particularly in the areas of HIV and Malaria. Today, the Institute facilitates research excellence and nurtures emerging scientists to advance patient care and practice, to address the most important global health issues of our time–through research, training and service.