Research
May 19, 2020
SEEMS-Nutrition estimates costs of early childhood development programs in Malawi
Categories: Children, Nutrition, Research
The Strengthening Economic Evaluation for Multi-sectoral Strategies for Nutrition (SEEMS-Nutrition) project, led by Dr. Carol Levin (Health Economist and Associate Professor, Global Health), has a unique opportunity to collect cost data alongside six on-going interventions and to generate new evidence on costs and cost-effectiveness of multi-sectoral projects in five country settings. Click here to read more about SEEMS-Nutrition.
The project applied its costing evaluation approaches to retrospectively estimate the costs and impact for an integrated agricultural, early childhood development, and school feeding randomized-control trial conducted in Malawi. (more…)
May 18, 2020
View recorded Global WACh research talks at UW
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, HIV and Co-Infections, Research, Talks and Events
Over the spring academic quarter at UW, Global WACh investigators and student research assistants shared their work across various presentation platforms across campus. Research span from assessing environmental enteric dysfunction on child health and survival to evaluating risks of depression among HIV-infected adolescent girls, to improved treatment of TB and HIV co-infections.
Click on the presentation titles below to access the recordings to view and learn more about our research. A list of upcoming virtual presentations can be found below.
March 11, 2020
Researchers share latest findings virtually at CROI 2020
Categories: HIV and Co-Infections, Research, Talks and Events
The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) brings together top basic, translational, and clinical researchers from around the world to share the latest studies, important developments, and best research methods in the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases. Due to concerns of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the US, CROI 2020 was virtually held from March 8 to March 11, 2020. (more…)
December 5, 2019
Researchers present findings at the 2019 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Conference
Categories: Conferences, Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
Last week, researchers from Global WACh’s Gut Health and Child Survival scientific priority area attended the 68th annual American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Conference in National Harbor, MD. ASTMH founded in 1903, is the largest international scientific organization of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. Experts envision a world free of tropical infectious diseases by generating and sharing scientific evidence, informing health policies and practices, fostering career development, recognizing excellence, and advocating for investment in tropical medicine/global health research.

Left to right: Hannah Atlas (MPH Student and Research Assistant), Dr. Rebecca Brander (Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Former Research Assistant), Dr. Christine McGrath (Assistant Professor, Global Health), Stephanie Tornberg-Belanger (PhD Epidemiology Student and Research Assistant)
Our researchers gave six oral presentations and presented six selected poster abstracts. Topics ranged from childhood diarrhea and enteric diseases to implementation science approaches for mass drug administration to factors of hospitalized-based child mortality. Scroll below to read each abstract and see photos from the conference. (more…)
November 25, 2019
New NIH study will test strategies to improve PrEP delivery to women receiving MCH services in Western Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, PrEP, Research
In February 2020, Global WACh researchers of ongoing PrEP implementation studies are launching a new five-year study titled, “PrEP in pregnancy, accelerating reach and efficiency (PrEPARE).” PrEPARE is funded through a National Institute of Health supplement to the AGYW study, led by Global WACh Director, Dr. Grace John-Stewart and Dr. Pamela Kohler (Global Health, Psychosocial and Community Health) to evaluate PrEP adherence among adolescent girls and young women, and a K01 grant awarded to Dr. Anjuli Wagner (Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health).
Principal investigators, Drs. John-Stewart, Kohler, Wagner, and Dr. John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya) will lead the PrEPARE study team that includes Global WACh researchers, Dr. Jillian Pintye (School of Nursing), Dr. Kristin Beima-Sofie (Global Health), Julia Dettinger (Global Health) and Laurén Gomez (Global Health).
November 13, 2019
Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Erica Lokken, joins Global WACh to study role of vaginal bacteria in HIV acquisition among Kenyan women
Categories: HIV and Co-Infections, Research
Global WACh is pleased to welcome new Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Erica Lokken, to our team at UW! Dr. Lokken successfully defended her PhD in Epidemiology dissertation in August and received a National Institute of Health F32 postdoctoral fellowship in October. This fellowship will support her long-term career goal to become an independent investigator conducting research that informs interventions to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health, including outcomes such as STI/HIV acquisition, fertility, and miscarriage. The three-year fellowship will allow Dr. Lokken to study how alterations in the vaginal microbiota may partly explain the increased risk of HIV acquisition among pregnant and postpartum women compared to non-pregnant women. Understanding the relationship between high-risk bacterial species and vaginal inflammation across the pregnancy and postpartum periods may inform the development of prevention strategies to reduce risks of reproductive health complications.
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August 19, 2019
Dr. Anjuli Wagner receives NIH K01 research and training grant to improve PrEP delivery for pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV, Research
Congratulations, Dr. Anjuli Wagner (Senior Fellow, Global Health) for receiving a National Institutes of Health (NIH) K01 grant, which supports early career researchers in gaining advanced research training and experience. Dr. Wagner’s new study, “Testing implementation strategies to improve delivery of PrEP for pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya,” aims to optimize the scaled-up delivery of PrEP—the daily oral pill to prevent HIV—in Kenya, where PrEP is systemically delivered in some regions during pregnancy. The grant allows Dr. Wagner an opportunity to complete her career development training in implementation science and health economics with strong mentorship and collaborations, and apply it within meaningful research to prevent maternal HIV acquisition in Kenya.
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June 19, 2019
Global WACh research assistant, Claire Gwayi-Chore, receives UW foreign language fellowship to build French language proficiency in implementation science research
Categories: Awards, Research, students
Claire Gwayi-Chore, PhD student in Global Health Implementation Science and an esteemed Global WACh research assistant, is a recipient of the 2019-2020 UW Canadian Studies Center’s Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship to support critical French language training in combination with area studies courses.
Her fellowship will help initiate an independent research project evaluating systemic barriers and facilitators to primary health care access by francophone Africans within Canada’s Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), which provides health care coverage to all asylum-seeking refugees. The lack of evidence surrounding the understanding of these systemic barriers that refugees experience is a major threat to the health of this vulnerable population. As an immigrant from Kenya, this issue is of personal importance to Claire, and her choice of study stems from her interest with the current agenda set forth by Canada’s administration that prioritizes the health and safety of all refugees entering the country. (more…)
June 18, 2019
New study will deliver social media-based counseling intervention to local peripartum adolescents
Categories: Awards, mHealth, Research, Youth
Dr. Keshet Ronen (Clinical Assistant Professor, Global Health) received a Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness grant by the University of Wisconsin’s Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT). The new study, entitled “Social media support for peripartum adolescents in Seattle”, takes lessons learned in Kenya using social media to facilitate peer support for youth and applies them here in Seattle. (more…)
June 11, 2019
Family Planning Decision Support teams publishes findings from Mobile WACh XY and receives funding for new Mobile WACh NEO trial
Categories: Awards, Family Planning, mHealth, Research
The Mobile WACh mHealth platform is the foundation of multiple studies under the Family Planning Decision Support Scientific Priority Area. The system allows for both automated sending of tailored health-related SMS messages and two-way SMS interaction between participants and a health care provider in low- to middle-income countries.

The patient, Gertude, receives automated and personalized messages from a nurse through the Mobile WACh platform regarding her infant’s health. Source: Brenda Daroka (Kenyatta National Hospital), East African Science & Technology Commission Conference presentation
Originally designed to use SMS text messaging as a means to keep expectant mothers informed and involved in the health of themselves and their babies, the platform provides new and innovative opportunities to promote family planning at critical time points. Family planning allows women to determine whether and when to have children, enhancing their educational and employment prospects. This, in turn, improves their income levels, family stability, and mental well-being, while contributing to improved health outcomes for themselves and their children.
We’re pleased to share recent achievements contributed by the Mobile WACh platform. (more…)
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