A Global Outlook Dr. Cunningham

For over 30 years the MSU Institute for Global Health has been collaborating with international partners to deliver study abroad programs, global research and support through a sustainable, continuing in-country presence.

We refer to this collaboration as the “Malawi Model,” and based it on the work of Terrie Taylor D.O., an internal medicine specialist, who made a life commitment to spend most of her time in Malawi researching the devastating effects of cerebral malaria in children. Through her team’s efforts, treatment protocols have been developed that have saved countless children that would have otherwise perished from this disease.

One of Taylor’s current efforts is work on an NIH grant titled, The Intransigence of Malaria in Malawi: Understanding Hidden Reservoirs, Successful Vectors and Prevention Failures, which will enable her research to continue into the future. You can learn more about Taylor’s journey through her TED talk Unlocking the Mysteries of Cerebral Malaria by following this link: https://youtu.be/hJNe2qUCfSw.

IGH recognizes the need for similar sustainable partnerships with other countries. To do so, we need a champion like Dr. Taylor who will devote their time in the culture and country. We need to deliver medical and research equipment and facilities that enhance clinical care and provide a home for research. We are excited to announce that we are replicating the “Malawi Model” in Perú and México.

Eleven years ago, MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Associate Dean Gary Willyerd, D.O., initiated the college’s first medical elective to Perú. Through his efforts with colleagues Shane Sergent D.O. and Ken Briceno M.D., they have developed a sustainable model with Universidad César Vallejo in Trujillo and with the Peruvian city of Iquitos to provide clinical care and research.

Sergent is coordinating the research and study abroad programs with Briceno, a Peruvian infectious disease specialist who lives and works in the Trujillo community and is also part of the MSU faculty. Through their coordinated efforts, medical students and residents are actively involved in clinical care and research. Their studies have included work examining HPV genotyping, hand-held nanotechnology diagnostics for TB detection, arsenic levels in water runoff and the respiratory effects of sugar cane burning.

It has been six years since Jacob Rowan, D.O., associate professor of osteopathic manipulative medicine uprooted his family and moved to Mérida, México to deliver health and hope to the inhabitants of that community. Rowan is now back at MSU, but he left a legacy of healing to Assistant Professor Travis Gordon, D.O., who now lives with his family in Merida and continues MSU’s presence of MSU faculty in that community.

Rowan and Gordon have engaged the Yucatan state government, several universities and research centers, as well as two Merida hospitals to build a sustainable local health care model. They are partnering with local researchers on studies examining the prevalence of kidney stones in local populations of humans and animals, the karst environment and water quality, mosquito abatement, post cholecystectomy dumping syndrome and other studies.

We have learned from Taylor’s diligence that to be successful in global partnerships, you need a champion who is willing to commit to help others by immersing himself/herself in the local community and culture. IGH believes that we have found new champions for Perú and México to assist our global partners in solving societal problems. We salute Taylor and her team for their passionate humanism and showing us the blueprint for successful global health projects.

Peace,

William Cunningham, D.O., M.H.A.

Associate Dean for Global Health Director of the MSU Institute for Global Health.