Global WACh

Gut Health and Child Survival


August 23, 2024

Dr. Ruchi Tiwari receives NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the association of maternal factors and child neurodevelopment in Kenya

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Congratulations to Dr. Ruchi Tiwari for receiving an NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Award that aims to enhance the research training of promising postdoctoral candidates who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators. This funding will allow her to continue training at Global WACh under the mentorship of Dr. Christine McGrath (Associate Professor, Global Health and Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology) and faculty within the Gut Health and Child Survival scientific priority area.

Dr. Tiwari plays a leading role in pediatric studies on gut health and malnutrition in Kenya alongside investigators at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). These studies involve understanding the effects of breast-milk derived nutrition supplements (human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs) on infant health outcomes.  She will leverage her skills to assess how maternal factors that can be changed or controlled (e.g. stress, infection, and inadequate nutrition during and after pregnancy) influence child neurodevelopment at 2 years of age, with an important focus on the difference in the composition of HMOs by those factors. (more…)


August 16, 2024

Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) leverages international research consortium to train and mentor investigators across career stages

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The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) research consortium, supported by faculty and staff at Global WACh, is an exemplary model of advancing institutional efforts to support research mentorship. The objective of EFGH is to establish the incidence and consequences of Shigella diarrhea in Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan, Peru, and The Gambia. EFGH also has a mission to ensure that the values, standards, and practices of science are effectively shared to the next generation of global health researchers.

Early-career investigators from EFGH partner institutions identified a need for seed funding, protected time, and support for scientific writing, data analysis, and mentorship to further advance their research careers. In response, EFGH developed structured programs to address those unmet needs. In September 2023, EFGH initiated a 16-month Manuscript Writing Certificate Program on the research-to-publication process and launched a second round of its Rising Star Program to support highly-talented junior scientists in becoming independent investigators. (more…)


June 5, 2024

2nd annual Global WACh Student Poster Symposium celebrates and highlights student achievements over the academic year

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On May 28th in the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, Global WACh hosted its second annual Student Poster Symposium featuring graduate student research aimed at improving the health and well-being of women, adolescents, and children. It was a celebratory end-of-year event to acknowledge students’ training, service, and achievement and give well wishes to those graduating UW.

This year’s symposium featured 14 posters by master’s and doctoral students and a postdoctoral fellow representing several departments and schools – Applied Bioengineering, Epidemiology, Global Health (General and Implementation Science tracks), Nursing, and Social Work. These included 90-hour capstone projects completed by students enrolled in the Global WACh Graduate Certificate Program, and master’s thesis and PhD dissertation-related posters by student supporting Global WACh’s research portfolio. Three posters were featured at scientific conferences over the academic year and shared with the UW global health community. (more…)


June 3, 2024

Global WACh faculty, staff, students attend a team retreat to build community and advance strategic initiatives

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On May 22nd, Global WACh hosted an all-day team retreat at the UW Waterfront Activities Center.  46 faculty, staff, and student trainees spent the day together with the goals of 1) team building across Global WACh’s scientific priorities, and 2) advancing strategic initiatives for scientific impact, deep work, and expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community. The retreat was part of a larger “Think Week” aimed at protecting time and space for creative thinking to expand innovation to improve the health of women, adolescents, and children. (more…)


April 29, 2024

Gut Health team shares experience supporting research consortiums at CUGH 2024

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Sonia Rao (Project Manager) and Alyson Shumays (Director of Research Operations) at CUGH 2024.

Global WACh team members, Sonia Rao and Alyson Shumays, attended the 2024 Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Conference, held from March 7-10, in Los Angeles, CA to share what they’ve learned from supporting international research consortiums under the Gut Health and Child Survival research portfolio.

This year’s theme, “Global Health Without Borders: Acting for Impact,” created an environment for scientists, students and implementers from academia, NGOs, government, and the private sector to learn, share research, collaborate, and develop partnerships to address global health challenges. Global WACh featured two poster abstracts under one of seven subthemes, “Decolonizing – Reforming Global Health Equity, Justice, Global Health Education and Research.” Click the titles below to view the posters. (more…)


April 22, 2024

Enterics for Global Health Consortium publishes a protocol supplement describing the study rationale and methods

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Sixteen articles authored by the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study Consortium were recently published in the March 2024 issue of Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

The Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study is a multi-country diarrhea surveillance study that aims to generate key data to optimize the design and implementation of pivotal Shigella vaccine trials. The protocol supplement describes the study rationale and current Shigella vaccine landscape, Consortium governance structure, epidemiologic and laboratory methods, and country site descriptions (Bangladesh, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Pakistan, and Peru).

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February 28, 2024

EFGH collaborators convene in Istanbul for pediatric diarrheal disease research

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Enterics for Global Health collaborators at the InterContinental Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo: Emily Allen)

Collaborators of the Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study recently attended a three-day convening in Istanbul, Turkey. The study’s second annual convening gathered nearly 40 collaborators for a series of scientific updates, data analyses planning, and discussions to guide the research consortium into the final stages of the study. (more…)


January 30, 2024

DW3 Spotlight on World NTD Day

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Malawi census collection. Credit: Wheller, 2016.

On World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, we celebrate the accomplishments of the DeWorm3 study in the fight against NTDs and call on the global health community to renew our commitment to creating a healthier, more equitable world for all.

DeWorm3 is a large clinical trial that aims to determine the feasibility of interrupting the transmission of parasitic worms, known as Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH), through community-wide mass drug administration (cMDA) that provides deworming medication to individuals of all ages in selected communities in Benin, Malawi, and India. STH are associated with nutritional deficiencies, cognitive impairment, and developmental problems amongst people who are heavily infected. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.5 billion individuals are infected with STH, representing 24% of the world’s population. The project began in 2016 with results expected in Spring of 2024. (more…)


January 26, 2024

Announcing the 2023-2024 UW Rising Star Award Recipients

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The Global WACh and Enterics for Global Health (EFGH) Shigella surveillance study (housed within the center) are pleased to announce the four recipients of the 2023-2024 Rising Star Award cycle.  A goal of the award program was to identify highly talented junior investigators from institutions in low-middle income countries (LMIC) who are committed to a career in research in woman, adolescent, and child health broadly, and in pediatric enteric and diarrheal disease.  To learn more about the award program and previous recipients, visit our informational webpages on the Global WACh and EFGH study sites. Meet our Rising Stars!

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January 24, 2024

Announcing New Global WACh Faculty Directors

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In late 2023, Global WACh embarked on a search to identify three new Faculty Directors — two internally at Global WACh and one externally among our global partners — to provide key leadership and input on Center-level priorities. They will join the Staff Directors, Kate Rankin and Alyson Shumays. Dr. Grace John-Stewart, the Founding Director, will continue in her role to mentor the new faculty leadership. Together, they will work towards advancing priorities, including social justice initiatives, investing in local and global partnerships, and financial sustainability. We are thrilled to begin the new year with an announcement of the new Faculty Directors: (more…)



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