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 Mohammad Ariful Islam, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference. Ariful researches influenza in Bangladesh with funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.My name: Md. Ariful Islam, MSSc, MPHMy name: Md Ariful Islam, MSS, MPHWhere I work: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) I’m funded by: US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMy research: We’re doing influenza surveillance in Bangladesh. Surveillance is important to detect novel influenza and to understand what type of influenza strains are circulating Bangladesh. Our surveillance objectives are to identify individuals and clusters of people with life-threatening infections with influenza virus and to characterize the diversity of strains of influenza in circulation in Bangladesh. We’re working in Bangladesh to detect novel influenza strains so that we can take immediate measures if needed.Motivation: Every day we work with patients. We are happy that we can use our efforts for the betterment of people in our country. Influenza is a severe disease for many patients, and if a disease outbreak occurs in Bangladesh, it may spread throughout the world—so I think we are doing a great job for the people. Why US federal support is critical: I believe that influenza is a problem not only for Bangladesh, it’s not only a problem for the US citizen, it is a problem for the whole world. If there is a disease outbreak like bird flu or swine flu, then all of the people in the world will suffer. The US policymakers and funders are doing a great job of funding this project to investigate influenza.When I’m not in the lab: I’m a big fan of cricket, so when I get some time I play with my colleagues. It also keep my body fit. If I want to work more, then I need to exercise more—so I like cricket.

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. Geoffrey Siwo, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference, who develops mathematical models to accelerate product development at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.My Name: Geoffrey Siwo, PhD.Where I work: University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IndianaI’m funded by: National Institutes of Health and National Science FoundationMy research: My research is in developing computational methods that impact the way we do science, especially with respect to global health….Basically the goal is to ensure that we can accelerate the way new medicines are brought into the market for diseases like malaria, and so this is why our project is to arrange computation methods, such as artificial intelligence that can have a rapid impact on the way we translate some of the science findings intro practical applications for global health….We believe that artificial intelligence can cut down the time that is needed to do this. One aspect [of our research] is to understand drug resistance, especially for malaria. So for the case of malaria where there is resistance to [the malaria drug] artemisinin, we are inviting data scientists to develop computational models that predict the mechanisms of the resistance and that will help in potential surveillance of resistance.Motivation: I am from Kenya originally, and I am motivated to do this research because malaria is a big problem in Africa and the only way to make a difference is to develop the therapies that directly address the disease.Why federal support is critical: This research has the potential to affect millions of lives. We know that disease has no barriers, and the solutions that we develop for diseases in any part of the world can have an impact on any other part of the world, including the US.When I’m not in the lab: I like reading some novels, especially regarding future technology and the future of the world.

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. Joseph Tucker, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference, who uses grassroots methods, like open challenge contests, to influence health messages and interventions in local communities, at the University of North Carolina. My Name: Joseph Tucker, MD, PhD. Where I work: University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  I’m funded by: National Institutes of Health  My research: My research is in sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV, in low- and middle-income countries and is primarily focused on diagnostics. We are interested in having open challenge contests where we solicit ideas from the community and then select great ideas and implement them. We’ve used this open challenge approach to come up with new ideas for promoting HIV and STD testing in a wide range of contests. In many parts of China, for example, gay men hesitate to get tested for HIV and many campaigns are top-down—they’re focused on expert-driven ideas and solutions. The idea with the open challenge approach is to have grassroots ideas from local communities influence the messaging and services and, in this case, for HIV testing. We had an open challenge contest where local gay men contributed images, memes, and short messages, and those all fed into the intervention to promote HIV testing for gay men.  Motivation: There’s a huge unmet need in terms of low- and middle-income countries and diagnostics. For me, personally, I do a lot of research in China. I studied Mandarin in college…there’s a number of different links between me and the city of Guangzhou. It’s been fun to develop this line of research over the years.  Why federal support is critical: These open challenges are a very low-cost way to engage communities and add value. Many times, we hire companies and it’s a clunky, top-down, expert-based approach, but there’s so much innovation within local communities—and the US government has recognized this for many years. There are many federal agencies that use open challenge contests and, I think, this is a simple, effective way of improving global health. When I’m not in the lab: I have two sons who are seven and four months old, and they keep me very busy. 

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. Mark Kortepeter, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Conference, who does research on emerging infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.My name: Mark Kortepeter, MD, PhD.Where I work: University of Nebraska in LincolnI’m funded by: Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.My research: I’m an infectious disease and public health physician and I work for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I lead what’s called the special pathogens research network, so this is a network, we have ten centers across the country, that are tied together as a research network for response to outbreaks, especially ones that are related to high consequence pathogens like Ebola. What we realized after the 2014/2016 outbreak [of Ebola], where there were patients coming into the US, was that there were a number of different investigational products that were used to treat the patients. We realized in the end that we really didn’t understand what was beneficial and what wasn’t in terms of the treatment because they were all given as individual investigational products. So the whole goal was to have a network that was tied together so we can learn more if this happens again—whether it’s Ebola or some other disease like Nipa virus or some novel influenza—so at the end of an outbreak, we would actually be able to compile data, be working off the same sheet of music, off the same protocol, to essentially advance science in understanding what works best for patients.If there are novels products that are still investigational, we would track with those—so we have some Ebola countermeasures that we have been working with…as well as if there was something new that popped up and a need to study something in real time, we could do that. In addition, if there is something for which there is no therapy, we also have the ability to follow the natural history of the disease and what clinical interventions also seem to be useful.Motivation: I got into this because I had a travel bug, and I liked the idea of doing work in infectious diseases because there is a travel component with it because you’re dealing with exotic diseases across the world. So that’s what really got me into it. I just found it fascinating working with people of other cultures.Why federal support is critical: It’s important to invest in this because we really don’t know where the next outbreak will come from…It’s possible that something will come out of left field and surprise us. So it’s very important to have some preparedness in mind, such that you can be ready for anything that comes. If you really think about it, we were all caught up with Ebola in 2014/2016, and then suddenly there is Zika virus, or we were surprised when West Nile showed up on the US shores. So we have to have a global mindset, we have to understand what’s going on outside the country as well as what can land on our shores, because we just never know what’s going to happen next. We’re all kind of one global world now in terms of infectious diseases. Infectious diseases have no boundaries or borders.When I’m not in the lab: The thing I’m really excited about right now is that I wrote a book about my experiences dealing with bioweapon defense when I worked at Fort Detrick, Maryland at the US Army laboratory there…It’s called “Inside the Hot Zone: A Solider on the Frontline of Biological Warfare.” It just came out this week. It’s written like a medical thriller, but it’s also very educational, and it gives an insider’s perspective on things like the anthrax attacks, preparation for Ebola outbreaks, dealing with Ebola in the laboratory, things like that.