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Alex Dehgan, science and technology advisor to the admistrator of USAID, talks global health R&D with GHTC Dr. Alex Dehgan is the science and technology adviser to the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), where he helps employ science, technology, and creativity to help solve traditional and persistent development challenges. Previously, he worked in the Department of State on science diplomacy issues with the Muslim world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He talked with GHTC’s Breakthroughs blog on a number of issues, including a NASA-USAID innovation for remote areas and the promise of several products in the pipeline that could save many lives. Q: During USAID’s 50th year, there’s a lot of talk about helping women in the developing world. How are you doing this with scientific research? A: Microbicide research is a good example. It would empower women to protect themselves against HIV. In areas where there are economic disparities, where the relationship involves older men and younger and poorer women, and men refuse to use condoms, a microbicide might be the only way for a woman to protect herself. Another example is research and development with mobile phones. It helps women capitalize on the benefits of microfinance. It allows children to have access to educational materials. It allows for easy cash dispersal. And in health care situations in remote locations, NASA and USAID have an incubator program called LAUNCH. One of the innovations is essentially a lab-in-a-box, a handheld device that takes a drop of blood and analyzes it for quick diagnosis of a variety of diseases. This could have exceptional uses, including for regular checkups for women who are pregnant. Q: You’ve just had a large gathering in Washington, DC, of researchers at the Saving Lives at Birth event, part of USAID’s Grand Challenges initiative. Why was this important to you? A: We focused on three constraints: How to improve the capacity of caregiver, how to deliver new tools, and how to ensure demand generation by women. What we need to do now is provide women in remote settings with new tools. For instance, we’ve now have these simulation models that allow health care workers to simulate doing a C-section surgery. That kind of innovation is very important. Q: So what innovation jumped out at you at this gathering? A: One that caught my attention was a nominee from Australia on stopping post-partum bleeding, which is a major cause of death after childbirth. Now, there’s a drug that stops the bleeding, but you need cold chain – refrigeration – which can be difficult in remote areas. What the inventor did was turn the drug into an aerosol, which doesn’t need refrigeration. It’s a great example of how we use innovation to create easier ways to get the products people need out in the communities. Q: What about challenges in research? What happens after you get unexpected results from a trial? A: Microbicides is a good example. It’s one of the challenges that exist and it involves a great deal of trial and error research. It requires incremental knowledge, and it requires building upon the failures of other people, so that we can get to a product that works. We all tend to celebrate breakthroughs, but we don’t often look at how many combinations we had to try in order to get to the point itself. You have to try a variety of combinations. We are frequently expecting results very quickly and come up with answers on timelines, but it doesn’t always work out that way. That said, we need to recognize that failure is actually an opportunity to learn and move forward; we need to not be afraid to take risks.

This is an exciting week for the GHTC. Not only are we launching our “Breakthroughs” blog, but we’re also taking off on an amazing trip to Kenya to discover how global health research is changing people’s lives on the ground. We can’t wait to share live updates on our blog from the trip, and give you a sense for the incredible progress taking place in Kenya. We’re very fortunate to be meeting with several GHTC members conducting ground-breaking work in Kenya. In Nairobi, we have plans to meet with local researchers from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM). DNDi is leading an incredible effort to create new treatments for visceral leishmaniasis, or VL, a painful and deadly disease that affects half a million people worldwide each year. IPM and IAVI are leading work to develop new HIV prevention methods in the form a vaccine (IAVI), as well as gels, rings and other products women can use to protect themselves against HIV (IPM). Also while we’re in Nairobi, the GHTC is meeting with several dedicated American officials working on global health research in Kenya. These committed US citizens work with agencies such as the State Department, the US Embassy, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They’ll share with us why the US Government thinks research for new global health tools is so critical to American interests at home and abroad. After Nairobi, we’ll visit Kisumu in Western Kenya. Kisumu is home to some of the most exciting health research going on in Kenya, including an incredible partnership several US agencies have with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The CDC has been working with KEMRI for 30 years, and we’ll be visiting some exciting research projects the CDC/KEMRI partnership is working on with GHTC members. For example, there’s some remarkable vaccine research going on in and around Kisumu—GHTC member Aeras is conducting research for a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine among infants in the region. And we’ll get the chance to hear about a ground-breaking study, called HPTN 052, on using antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention in couples. The Department of Defense (DoD) also has a long history of medical research in Kisumu that we’ll get the hear more about during our visit. Finally, we’ll be visiting a great program in western Kenya run by our secretariat PATH. The program, called APHIA II, provides comprehensive health care and prevention services for diseases such as HIV and AIDS, TB, and links these services to others that improve maternal and child health. APHIA shows the impact of lifesaving tools - such as drugs, vaccines, bed nets, and other treatments – that only exist as a result of the research investments that helped to develop them. We hope you’re as excited about the GHTC’s trip as we are. We’re thrilled to share these stories with you, and hope you follow us throughout the week.

A letter from GHTC Director Kaitlin Christenson: Here at the GHTC, our team is dedicated to the idea that it’s possible to find new health solutions that will save countless lives around the world. From the first-ever vaccine to prevent malaria, to a ground-breaking gel that can prevent HIV infection, to new, simpler regimens to treat TB, we believe that science can and will deliver the tools we need to eliminate some of the world’s deadliest diseases. But we’re not naïve enough to think that science alone is enough. Without the right policies in place, innovative solutions might remain in the lab and never reach those who are most in need. It’s this very collision between science and policy that compels us to do what we do: talk with US policymakers about the promise and potential that US-funded research holds for global health, and about the types of policies that must be in place to ensure that the fruits of these efforts aren’t wasted. We feel as if there has never been a more exciting time to work in global health, and we hope you share our passion. The past few years have yielded momentous scientific advances that have the potential to completely change the way we address disease in poor countries. Just last year, PATH and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the first-ever vaccine designed solely with Africa in mind, and rates of meningitis A have plummeted as a result. And over the past two years, scientists have proven that a host of new interventions might give us the power to change the way we prevent HIV. We also believe that it has never been a more critical time to work in global health. Policymakers on Capitol Hill are currently making incredibly tough decisions regarding the federal budget. There have been signs that Congress could cut health research funds, despite an unprecedented string of successes in the past few years. We cannot lose momentum now. Some of the greatest scientific minds of our time are dedicated to these and other causes, and the US Government has an important hand in pushing it all forward. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll use this blog to share photos, videos, and interviews with the heroes who have dedicated their lives to this cause—from researchers in remote spots around the world, to policymakers right here in the US. We’ll show you the amazing work our members are doing to help people around the globe and keep you informed about the policy changes in DC that impact these issues. We’ve found the nexus where science, health, and policy collide, and we’re excited to share it with you. We hope you’ll enjoy what you find on these pages and that you’ll come back for more! Photo credits: PATH.