Research
November 25, 2019
New NIH study will test PrEP delivery strategies 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 (supported by Global WACh Certificate student Jaclyn Escudero), and a NIH K01 grant awarded to Dr. Anjuli Wagner (Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health). (more…)
November 13, 2019
Welcome Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Erica Lokken
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 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
Research assistant, Claire Gwayi-Chore, receives UW foreign language fellowship for 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 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 team publishes Mobile WACh XY results and receives new trial funding
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.
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…)
June 7, 2019
Dr. Sarah Benki and Kenya Healthy Brain Project receives EDGE Pilot Award for environmental health research
Categories: Awards, Children, HIV, Research
Environmental exposures in sub-Saharan Africa have received little attention despite data suggesting high levels of air pollutants and metals. Environmental pollutants are harmful to infants’ developing brains and may lead to poor neurocognitive outcomes into adolescence and adulthood. Supporting early brain development is crucial for lifelong success in adolescence and adulthood.
Dr. Sarah Benki (Department of Global Health) is leading the newly launched Kenya Healthy Brain Project, a multi-disciplinary maternal-child environmental health research collaborative housed in the University of Nairobi that aims to build local research capacity, with the idea of moving research into policy practice to reduce exposures that threaten cognitive potential in children. (more…)
Dr. Sylvia LaCourse receives awards to investigate TB diagnostic methods in HIV-infected pregnant women and children
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
Tuberculosis (TB) contributes to substantial morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected peripartum women and their children. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Sylvia LaCourse (Acting Assistant Professor, Medicine and Co-Director, HIV and Co-Infections Scientific Priority Area) received two National Institutes of Health-funded R21 awards to investigate novel TB diagnostic methods in HIV-infected children and TB-specific immune responses in pregnant women. (more…)
June 6, 2019
Dr. Christine McGrath co-leads new study on infant HIV, breast milk and gut health
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, Nutrition, Research
Congratulations to Principal Investigators, Dr. Christine McGrath (Assistant Professor, Global Health) and Dr. Grace Aldrovandi (Chief, Division of Infectious Disease at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital; Professor, Pediatrics, UCLA Geffen School of Medicine), who received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 award for a new study entitled, “Effects of Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Gut Microbiome on Growth and Morbidity in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants.”
The study team includes investigators from the Department of Global Health, Drs. Grace John-Stewart (Global WACh Director; Professor), Donna Denno (Professor), Judd Walson (Professor), Barbra Richardson (Adjunct Research Professor) and from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Dr. Benson Singa (Research Scientist; Affiliated Assistant Professor, Global Health). (more…)
May 30, 2019
Global WACh’s Next Big Thing 2019: Putting Women at the Center of Family Planning Innovations
Categories: Certificate Program, Family Planning, Research
On Tuesday, May 28th, 2019 at the UW Husky Union Building Lyceum, Global WACh hosted its annual “Next Big Thing” year-end celebration to highlight the achievements of the Center over the past year in research, training, and service. This year’s theme was “Putting Women at the Center of Family Planning Innovations.” (more…)
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