Breakthroughs Blog: Faces of Innovation

Faces of Innovation—a new GHTC project that features scientists on the front lines of research and development on new global health tools and technologies—profiles Dr. Aileen Marty, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference. Dr. Marty works at Florida International University and serves on the President’s Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.My name: Aileen Marty, MDWhere I work: Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University I’m funded by: The US government has supported my research since I began doing research back in the early 1970s. Right now, I’m involved with PACCARB, the President’s Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.My research: We’re interested in not only resistance by bacteria to antibiotics, but also by other pathogens such as fungal agents, and eventually hope to also focus on antihelminthic agents, and so forth. We are taking a look at it from a one health perspective, which means we try and understand how the agriculture industry may impact the use and availability of antimicrobial agents for humans, what is going on in the environment that’s also altering these things, as well as stewardship and appropriate use of antibiotics and antimicrobials in hospitals and in clinics throughout the United States and throughout the world, and see how those interface with one another. The CDC [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recently put out a document about antimicrobial resistance that’s highly important. It says we’re already in an era where, for a number of very serious bugs or germs, we are out of antibiotics that actually work. If we do not solve this problem, we’re going to find ourselves in the situation we were in prior to the 20th century. And that impacts much more than infections directly, because modern medicine relies on us not having infections in order to do the surgeries that we’re doing. And to help people with autoimmune diseases like psoriasis or cancer treatments that decrease a person’s immune systems, we depend on the availability of good functioning antibiotics and antimicrobial agents at the right time in the right place for the right patient.Motivation: I love humanity—and I seriously believe that we all have a role to play in making sure that we leave behind a better world than the world we came into. And I become very inspired when I work with young minds, and I make sure that they see the connections between the different systems of the world and how we need to be stewards of the earth.Why US federal support is critical: We mustn’t think of it only in terms of it being global. You must realize that we in the United States are part of the globe. Moreover, individuals who live in the United States, who are citizens of the United States, travel worldwide. And what happens in Bangladesh has an impact on what happens in New York. Look at the recent measles outbreak in New York state, for example. That outbreak originated with an outbreak in Ukraine that passed via Israel and was brought to the United States—and think about what that has done. When we manage outbreaks where they arise, wherever that is, we minimize the footprint there and decrease the risk everywhere. When I’m not in the lab: In my personal life, I have a huge family, which I love dearly, and many, many good friends, and we spend a lot of time coming up with good community plans for helping people. And I belong to the Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, and through that organization we are going to synagogues and churches and other houses of worship where we are explaining the public health impacts of climate change to our people. 

Faces of Innovation—a new GHTC project that features scientists on the front lines of research and development on new global health tools and technologies—profiles Dr. Mohammad Nuhu Amin, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference. Dr. Amin researches sanitation and diarrheal diseases with support from the United States Agency for International Development.My name: Nuhu Amin BDS, MPH, HSCWhere I work: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr,b) I’m funded by: US Agency for International Development My research: My primary goal is to do interventions to reduce diarrhea and cholera in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the urban communities of Dhaka. I’ve worked at icddr,b for the last ten years, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with lots of US universities. Currently I’m working with Stanford University with Professor of Medicine Dr. Stephen Luby on a Rohingya distribution impact assessment. I’m also working on another project with Emory University on a fecal pathogen exposure assessment. And our team is doing a different project with Emory University in collaboration with the University of Sydney to track the sanitation chain to detect pathogens, like norovirus, salmonella, shigella, and cholera, that cause diarrhea. We have previously also collaborated with Johns Hopkins University and we have lots of colleagues who work with Oregon University and other state universities in the United States.Motivation: I am a medical graduate, and I’ve had lots of patients with different problems including diarrhea and other infectious diseases. Bangladesh is a tropical country, so infectious disease rates are really high. This motivates me to not only focus on treatment, but to do the research to remove and prevent these diseases.Why US federal support is critical: USAID is one of our four core donors. They have been funding us for more than 50 years to support the research of our institute. I think the contribution of the US government is important for this research and development. When I’m not in the lab: I’m also a dental surgeon, so I have a clinic. Every day, for two or three hours, I treat patients and particularly patients who are poor. Dental health treatment is expensive, so I aim to serve my patients at a low-price. I have two kids as well, so I spend my time with them—they’re very inspiring for me. In addition, I love to travel to different countries. This year I traveled to almost four countries including Swaziland, South Africa, and India. I love to meet with other people around the world—that’s my hobby. 

Faces of Innovation—a new GHTC project that features scientists on the front lines of research and development on new global health tools and technologies—profiles Dr. Christine Petersen, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference, who researches how infectious diseases transmit between animals and people at the University of Iowa.My Name: Christine Petersen, DVM, PhD.Where I work: Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. I’m funded by: National Institutes of Health. My research: My work is funded by the National Institutes of Health to help figure out how infectious diseases transmit between animals and people. As someone who lives in Iowa, where there’s six pigs for every person, it’s critical to understand those interactions between animals and people. Infectious diseases can be everything from the flu that we all get our shots for to parasitic diseases, like malaria, that affect anybody who travels and goes to places for work or for play.Motivation: I was one of those kids who watched nature shows growing up and loved them. I always wanted to go and work with these amazing animals around the planet. It turns out those amazing animals gives diseases to the people that live with them or use them as a food source. In 1996, when 30 percent of the population in Kenya were dying of AIDS, most of them were dying of diseases they likely acquired from the very livestock that helps keep them alive. I wanted to be able to help those animals to stay healthier so the people could stay healthier.  Why federal support is critical: It’s critical for policymakers to support global health research because we can’t separate where animals come from. We do not have borders that keep animals of all species out of this country. Like it or not, we share diseases with those animals. We need those animals to eat, to be our friends, and to make our lives happy. But all of us have diseases that we share, and we need to prevent them from making the animals sick and us sick. When I’m not in the lab: Not surprisingly, given the other things I’ve said, I do have two dogs, two cats, some fish, and some snails thanks to my ten-year-old daughter’s class. I love running with the dogs, going on hikes, and going kayaking. 

Faces of Innovation—a new GHTC project that features scientists on the front lines of research and development on new global health tools and technologies—profiles Dr. Heinz Weidenthaler, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Conference, who developed a smallpox and monkeypox vaccine with Bavarian Nordic.My name: Heinz Weidenthaler, MDWhere I work: Bavarian Nordic, which is headquartered in Denmark and has offices in Morrisville, North CarolinaI’m funded by: Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMy research: I am a medical doctor by training working for a company called Bavarian Nordic…We have done quite an extensive program in developing a smallpox and monkeypox vaccine with support of several federal agencies of the US, mostly BARDA, who has funded most of our clinical trials and helped us really tremendously throughout the development of this product. There were other contributions, NIH NIAID [National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] provided support in specifically running several of the clinical trials that finally led to licensure of the product. The Department of Defense was incredibly helpful in running the key pivotal phase III trial, via USAMRIID [US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases]. We also have a collaboration with CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], who is using our product in a study right now in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC].It is intended to be a safer alternative smallpox vaccine, which means it can protect the public, of course, both in America, but also on a global basis. Smallpox is a global threat, not a national threat at a given country…We received US licensure not only for smallpox, but also for monkeypox. There the global impact really comes in because the current epidemiology of monkeypox is endemic in several African countries like the DRC and Nigeria. This is something that, there will be an impact as soon as it is able to be deployed there. This is running right now with the CDC study in DRC, that could really save lives by preventing infections in these areas.Motivation: I’m a medical doctor by training and joined the pharma/biotech industry quite a while ago, and instead of just working on another blood pressure pill that would be generic a few years later, I think working in the pox virus vaccine sphere really has an impact on saving lives. And doing that with the help of government funding, in terms of a really successful public private partnership here, I think is a tremendous success, and being part of that, and helping in the clinical development of our vaccine is really a motivating thing because it just has an impact of peoples’ lives.Why federal support is critical: Global health is affecting all countries, including the US. Last year, we had these cases from Nigeria, people who were bringing cases of monkeypox, transmitting them to the UK, to Singapore, to Israel. The world is so globally connected, and infectious diseases that are endemic in sub-Saharan African countries can be anywhere in the world 24 hours later. I think this has a really huge impact on being prepared for all scenarios, and is of critical importance for the health of individuals worldwide, including the US.When I’m not in the lab: I take care of my family. I have three kids back home. I try to be there as much as possible, which is not always easy, but I enjoy the time back home with my kids. I try to do some kinds of sports as far as I find the time for that. I play volleyball quite frequently.