Gut Health and Child Survival
November 14, 2025
Dr. Arianna Means receives award to support facilities strengthen organizational culture of learning and improvement to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, Implementation Science, Research
Principal Investigator Dr. Arianna Means; Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. John Kinuthia and Dr. Unger; Research Scientist Dr. Sarah Hicks
Congratulations to Dr. Arianna Means (Associate Professor, Global Health) for receiving a National Institutes of Health award for the AMANI (Accelerating Maternal And Neonatal survIval) trial that will test a practice facilitation package (of training materials, tools, and other resources) that could help stakeholders better understand the circumstances surrounding maternal and perinatal deaths, leading to improved quality of care and reduced mortality among mothers and infants. Study collaborators include Dr. John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital), Dr. Jennifer Unger (Brown University), and Dr. Sarah Hicks (Research Scientist, Global WACh).
AMANI builds on prior research identifying critical issues contributing to neonatal deaths during health facility delivery and identifying factors influencing guideline adherence, which led to the development of a practice facilitation package designed to strengthen facilities’ capacity to address care quality and implementation gaps. (more…)
November 6, 2025
Global WACh visits Seattle Children’s Hospital for sepsis research lecture and networking
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research, Talks and Events
On October 23rd, the UW Pediatrics Global Health Collaborative (GHC) invited Global WACh team members to Seattle Children’s Hospital for an engaging morning of knowledge-sharing and networking. We value these interactions with other researchers for opportunities to share our work, find potential collaborators, and stay current within our fields of study.
The hospital’s Provider Grand Round lecture series invited a distinguished pediatric healthcare expert.
“From Bedside to Bench to Back: Pediatric Sepsis in Resource-Constrained Settings” (Click here to watch)
Dr. Teresa Bleakly Kortz, MD, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in Critical Care Medicine
Director of the Institute for Global Health Sciences Affiliate Program
Director of the Pediatric Global Health Scholars Pathway at the University of California, San Francisco
October 20, 2025
Watch the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study results webinar
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research, Talks and Events
On October 8th, researchers from the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella Surveillance Study, conducted across seven countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, presented their findings. This 90-minute webinar featured short presentations from EFGH investigators on key findings and the implications for Shigella vaccines and clinical management.
The Burden, Consequences, and Cost of Shigella Diarrhea in Young Children — and Implications for Shigella Vaccines (Click here to watch)
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the rationale and methods of the EFGH study
- Examine data on Shigella disease burden, antimicrobial resistance, consequences, and cost
- Discuss key design considerations for future Shigella vaccine trials and eventual vaccine introduction
To learn more about EFGH, visit their website at https://depts.washington.edu/efgh/
August 25, 2025
Researchers support new trial to evaluate the effects of probiotics in highly vulnerable infants
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
Preterm and small for gestational age (SGA) infants have a significantly higher risk of mortality and morbidity than term infants or those born with normal birth weight in low- and middle-income countries. However, improvements in outcomes in these highly vulnerable populations have been slow worldwide due to the complexity of medical management of small and vulnerable infants. In recent years, small-scale clinical trials conducted across a variety of settings have shown that probiotic supplementation can improve short- and long-term outcomes, including reducing rates of sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis and improving growth and neurodevelopment. However, there is limited data on use of probiotics in preterm and SGA populations that is needed to inform future policy and practice.
To help expand the evidence base of probiotic supplementation in preterm and SGA infants, Global WACh researchers are supporting the newly launched “Efficacy of probiotic supplementation in preterm and small for gestational age infants: A multi-centre, placebo-controlled, individually-randomised trial (PROPS Trial)” sponsored by the WHO Newborn and Child Health and Development Unit, coordinated by Johns Hopkins University, and funded by the Gates Foundation. The trial will assess the effect of probiotic supplementation on mortality, morbidity, and growth in 14,000 enrolled preterm or term SGA infants in the first six months of life in five South Asian (Bangladesh, Pakistan) and Sub-Saharan African (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria) countries with high rates of preterm birth and malnutrition among infants. Implementing partners include: (more…)
August 18, 2025
New CHAIN Network study aims to support families of children after hospital discharge
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
Researchers of the Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network, a group of clinical experts and scientists seeking to optimize care for vulnerable children in limited resource setting, investigated how often, when, and why young children in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia die when admitted to hospitals. While hospital admission and treatment help many children recover, it may not alter the trajectory of their health, which is dictated by the child, family, and socio-cultural factors, leading to poor health outcomes and preventable deaths.
Leveraging what they’ve learned to develop new child survival interventions, CHAIN researchers launched a two-year study titled, “CHAIN-PoP: A Proof of Principle Trial Supporting Families of Children After Hospital Discharge,” to evaluate a combined intervention of health system strengthening at discharge and increased support to families of high-risk children. The added educational and financial support may improve caregivers’ empowerment and change the decision-making dynamics within the household in a favorable way. (more…)
July 15, 2025
Research Scientist Dr. Emily Begnel receives early career award to study antimicrobial resistance and its effects on gut health and HIV exposure in children
Categories: Awards, Children, Gut Health and Child Survival, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
Congratulations to Dr. Emily Begnel, Research Scientist with Global WACh, for receiving a Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award to fund “The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and effects on gut health among children who are HIV-exposed but uninfected.” The award funds early career investigators and their development towards independent research in child health. Dr. Begnel will conduct her research under the mentorship of Drs. Jennifer Slyker and Patricia Pavlinac (UW Global Health and Epidemiology), and collaborate with Dr. Ana Weil (UW School of Medicine) and the Weil Lab.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is rising globally and threatens public health by decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics in treating infections. Children who are HIV-exposed receive the antibiotic cotrimoxazole to prevent a range of bacterial infections; however, there is concern that it may contribute to the development of AMR in these children. There is urgency to better understand the dynamics of AMR development and spread, particularly among children in low- and middle-income countries where AMR is prevalent. Pathogens can transfer resistance genes to the bacteria in the gut microbiome, potentially contributing to long-term AMR. (more…)
April 25, 2025
MAMMS-IYCF study team wins Top Abstract Award at the 2025 KEMRI Annual Scientific and Research Conference
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, HIV, Research
MAMMS-IYCF study team members participated in a live Q&A session at KASH 2025.
“A pilot study to develop and test a two-way SMS Platform to recognize and prevent wasting among HIV-infected and HIV-exposed uninfected children in Kenya” summarized how Dr. Edemba and a collaborative team from UW and Kenya Medical Research Institute adapted the Maternally Administrated Malnutrition Monitoring System (MAMMS) mHealth platform – in which caregivers measure their child’s mid-upper arm circumference on a weekly basis and communicate color-coded findings with healthcare workers via SMS text message – to include messages on infant and young child feeding (IYCF). The study team integrated these tailored messages and administered them to caregivers seeking care for children exposed to HIV at the Homa Boy and Migroi County referral hospitals over a two year period. (more…)
March 20, 2025
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) collaborators convene in Kenya for pediatric diarrheal disease research
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study held its annual convening from January 27-30 in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Over sixty collaborators from around the world gathered to collectively workshop primary manuscripts, and plan for the next phase of the study (“Phase C”) which will focus on results dissemination, supporting secondary data analyses, and conducting implementation research to characterize policy-maker priorities for Shigella vaccine adoption. (more…)
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Coordination Team nominated for UW Distinguished Staff Award
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival
Staff members of the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Coordination Team have been nominated for a University of Washington (UW) Distinguished Staff Award in recognition of their contributions to advancing equity within global health research consortium models and implementing systems and programs that support early career investigators and researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The team includes (pictured top row from right to left): Hannah Atlas (Research Manager), Erika Feutz (Data Manager), Sean Galagan (Senior Data Manager), Anya Lewin (Program Operations Specialist). Pictured bottom row from right to left: Chloe Morozoff (Research Assistant), Sonia Rao (Program Specialist), Olivia Schultes (Data Manager), and Alyson Shumays (Global WACh Co-Director as Program Manager). (more…)
December 2, 2024
Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Phase C aims to assess policymaker preferences on Shigella vaccine characteristics
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, Implementation Science, Research
The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH): Shigella surveillance study was launched in 2022 and aims to establish incidence and consequences of Shigella diarrhea among children 6-35 months in Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan, Peru, and The Gambia and inform future Shigella vaccine trial planning. The study protocol has been published in a supplement in Open Forum of Infectious Diseases. During Phases A and B, the EFGH Consortium built a robust collaborative research infrastructure to facilitate shared scientific decision making and protocol standardization, and recently completed enrollment of 9,476 participants in August 2024.
(more…)
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