a signature strategic advantage

PUTTING KNOWLEDGE IN THE SERVICE OF SOCIETY

A study of more than 3,000 orphaned and abandoned children in five Asian and African countries, led by Kathryn Whetten, director of the Center for Health Policy at the Duke Global Health Institute, has found that children in institutional orphanages fare as well as or better than those who live in the community. more >

Geoffrey Ginsburg, director of the IGSP Center for Genomic Medicine, is leading a team researching methods to detect and screen for H1N1 flu and other infectious diseases. Looking at molecular changes in blood samples as people get infected (or don’t), the screening could make diagnosis and treatment more effective and efficient (from Slate.com).  more>

The Kenan Institute for Ethics

is an interdisciplinary “think and do” tank committed to understanding and addressing real-world ethical challenges facing individuals, organizations and societies worldwide. Connect to Kenan >

NEWS AND EVENTS

  • February 1, 2010

    DIBS Transcending the Boundaries Workshop Feb. 26-27 on Cochlear Prosthetics


    David McAlpine, Professor of Auditory Neuroscience and Director of the Ear Institute, University College London (UK) will lead off the workshop with a lecture entitled: “What the Brain Knows About Cochlear Implantation.” more >

  • February 1, 2010

    Nicholas Institute & Environmental Institutions Spring Seminar Series


    Feb. 2 talk will feature an overview from the Duke delegation at the recent Copenhagen climate summit. more >

  • January 13, 2010

    Ethics Film Series Launches Jan. 19


    Spring 2010 series explores theme of control and resistance. more >

  • January 8, 2010

    Genomes@4 Spring Seminar Schedule Announced


    Sponsored by the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Genomes@4 is designed to engage scholars from a broad range of disciplines through a seminar series focused on the impact of the Genome Revolution. The Spring 2010 series begins March 3. more >

  • December 10, 2008

    Listen to a talk by President Brodhead on Interdisciplinary Studies


    from the Kenan Institute for Ethics' November 2008 board meeting. more >

SPOTLIGHT ON INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES:

New Global Health Courses Focus on Nutrition and Financing


 

Global Nutrition and Global Health Financing will be the topics of two new courses offered this Spring, 2010. These courses are geared toward undergraduate students in the global health certificate program and graduate students enrolled in DGHI’s Master of Science in Global Health. They explore relevant global health issues that offer students a broader understanding of the challenges that face resource-limited communities around the world.

class_image Global Nutrition: Over and Under Nutrition in Developing Countries (GLHLTH 220S) will discuss the epidemiological, biological and behavioral consequences that lead to malnutrition as well as obesity. The course will also have a strong emphasis on ethical and political issues related to nutrition policy and programs in poor nations. Taught by DGHI faculty member Sara Benjamin, the course will culminate in a final project in which students will develop a program to address a particular nutrition-related health issue in a developing country. Students will also have the chance to engage with key players in the field.

“Students will have the opportunity to interact with researchers and other students currently engaged in projects related to nutrition in developing countries,” said Benjamin, assistant professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine. “We are excited to enable students interested in nutrition to be able to learn about opportunities to get involved in those projects.”

Global Health Supply, Financing and Organization (GLHLTH184.02/ECON184.02/ECON284.02) will explore how financing drives pharmaceutical and vaccine research, health delivery and technology adoption in low and middle income countries. The issue is vital for delivering health care in resource-poor countries.

“The average income in some of these countries is roughly a dollar a day per capita,” said Frank Sloan, DGHI affiliate and professor of health policy and economics. “If you don’t have financing, you don’t have health care. If you don’t have physicians, nurses, hospitals and vaccines, you don’t have health care.”

The course will explore the organization of health care, the costs and benefits associated with health technologies and the availability and financing of pharmaceutics in resource-poor settings.  Students will also study whether the public or private sector is more effective in delivering health care services.

--from the Duke Global Health Institute--more information available here.

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