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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. Vinayak Joshi, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference. Dr. Joshi is working on a diagnostic for cerebral malaria with support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.My name: Vinayak Joshi, PhDWhere I work: VisionQuest Biomedical Inc.I’m funded by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH)My research: We are developing a user-friendly, fully automated, and simple-to-use diagnostic for cerebral malaria. Today, cerebral malaria misdiagnosis causes hundreds of thousands of deaths in African children. With improved diagnostic accuracy, we can prevent many of those deaths and associated disabilities. Motivation: My background is in machine learning software development for medical diagnosis. In my PhD research, I developed an algorithm for detecting malarial biomarkers in eyes. Later, I got a chance to visit one of the malaria clinics—and I learned that this particular kind of malaria, cerebral malaria, is one of the largest killers of children in Africa—and I actually witnessed a child’s death which left an impression on my mind. Rather than just focusing on developing an algorithm, I reasoned that developing a tool that would lead to greater accessibility and was affordable to the target population in Africa, would make a significant humanitarian contribution.Why US federal support is critical: One of the major goals of this work is to prevent deaths in young children. For such two- to three-year-old kids—it is one of the biggest global health problems. After a child is affected with cerebral malaria, one needs to take action in 24 to 48 hours, otherwise it results in death. It may not be always reported in the news media, but hundreds of thousands of deaths occur every year from this issue. The death toll and neurological disability in children caused by this disease are important problems, often overlooked by the world outside of sub-Saharan Africa. The United States does a lot of noble work in different countries, in health care, development, other infrastructure, and I think this is one of the problems that should receive more attention. There are many technologies being developed, but developers can’t find the channels to commercialize them, because the African market is not where you make money—you do it for humanitarian purposes. But to develop any product you need money, and I think the US government should look into it. They should support the institutions that produce the tools but have to find sources of funding to commercialize these technologies and make them accessible to the target population.When I’m not in the lab: I like a lot of traveling—it’s one of my hobbies. I don’t particularly like to go to top tourist destinations. I like to explore new, unexplored parts of the country. 

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.