Marissa Chmiola

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. Geoffrey Siwo, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Conference, who develops mathematical models to accelerate product development at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.My Name: Geoffrey Siwo, PhD.Where I work: University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IndianaI’m funded by: National Institutes of Health and National Science FoundationMy research: My research is in developing computational methods that impact the way we do science, especially with respect to global health….Basically the goal is to ensure that we can accelerate the way new medicines are brought into the market for diseases like malaria, and so this is why our project is to arrange computation methods, such as artificial intelligence that can have a rapid impact on the way we translate some of the science findings intro practical applications for global health….We believe that artificial intelligence can cut down the time that is needed to do this. One aspect [of our research] is to understand drug resistance, especially for malaria. So for the case of malaria where there is resistance to [the malaria drug] artemisinin, we are inviting data scientists to develop computational models that predict the mechanisms of the resistance and that will help in potential surveillance of resistance.Motivation: I am from Kenya originally, and I am motivated to do this research because malaria is a big problem in Africa and the only way to make a difference is to develop the therapies that directly address the disease.Why federal support is critical: This research has the potential to affect millions of lives. We know that disease has no barriers, and the solutions that we develop for diseases in any part of the world can have an impact on any other part of the world, including the US.When I’m not in the lab: I like reading some novels, especially regarding future technology and the future of the world.

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. Mark Kortepeter, who we met at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Conference, who does research on emerging infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.My name: Mark Kortepeter, MD, PhD.Where I work: University of Nebraska in LincolnI’m funded by: Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.My research: I’m an infectious disease and public health physician and I work for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I lead what’s called the special pathogens research network, so this is a network, we have ten centers across the country, that are tied together as a research network for response to outbreaks, especially ones that are related to high consequence pathogens like Ebola. What we realized after the 2014/2016 outbreak [of Ebola], where there were patients coming into the US, was that there were a number of different investigational products that were used to treat the patients. We realized in the end that we really didn’t understand what was beneficial and what wasn’t in terms of the treatment because they were all given as individual investigational products. So the whole goal was to have a network that was tied together so we can learn more if this happens again—whether it’s Ebola or some other disease like Nipa virus or some novel influenza—so at the end of an outbreak, we would actually be able to compile data, be working off the same sheet of music, off the same protocol, to essentially advance science in understanding what works best for patients.If there are novels products that are still investigational, we would track with those—so we have some Ebola countermeasures that we have been working with…as well as if there was something new that popped up and a need to study something in real time, we could do that. In addition, if there is something for which there is no therapy, we also have the ability to follow the natural history of the disease and what clinical interventions also seem to be useful.Motivation: I got into this because I had a travel bug, and I liked the idea of doing work in infectious diseases because there is a travel component with it because you’re dealing with exotic diseases across the world. So that’s what really got me into it. I just found it fascinating working with people of other cultures.Why federal support is critical: It’s important to invest in this because we really don’t know where the next outbreak will come from…It’s possible that something will come out of left field and surprise us. So it’s very important to have some preparedness in mind, such that you can be ready for anything that comes. If you really think about it, we were all caught up with Ebola in 2014/2016, and then suddenly there is Zika virus, or we were surprised when West Nile showed up on the US shores. So we have to have a global mindset, we have to understand what’s going on outside the country as well as what can land on our shores, because we just never know what’s going to happen next. We’re all kind of one global world now in terms of infectious diseases. Infectious diseases have no boundaries or borders.When I’m not in the lab: The thing I’m really excited about right now is that I wrote a book about my experiences dealing with bioweapon defense when I worked at Fort Detrick, Maryland at the US Army laboratory there…It’s called “Inside the Hot Zone: A Solider on the Frontline of Biological Warfare.” It just came out this week. It’s written like a medical thriller, but it’s also very educational, and it gives an insider’s perspective on things like the anthrax attacks, preparation for Ebola outbreaks, dealing with Ebola in the laboratory, things like that. 

One of the great things about working at GHTC is that every day we get to read stories about incredible innovations in global health. Most of the technologies we read about are inventive, some are revolutionary, and a few are so unusual, one might think they were ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel. So, to enjoy a bit of fun and mischief this Halloween, we’ve created a new game, TRICK or TREATment, to test our readers’ knowledge of global health technologies. For each question, we will present a description of a global health technology. Choose TREATment if you believe this innovation exists and has market approval. Choose TRICK if you think we are trying to pull one over on you and, instead, the product is still in development or just a figment of our imagination.  Loading... (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) { var ql = document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if (ql) { if (ql.length) { for (var k = 0; k

For over five decades, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported the development, introduction, and scale up of urgently-needed health technologies as a critical part of its mission to advance global health and development. To reflect on USAID’s decades of work in global health innovation and how continued efforts will be vital to moving countries along the journey to self-reliance, GHTC held a dialogue in early August featuring USAID Chief of Staff Bill Steiger, as well as representatives from USAID’s Global Health Bureau and nonprofit and private sector partners.Here are some of our favorite observations and insights from the discussion:BILL STEIGER ON HOW HEALTH INNOVATION IS CENTRAL TO USAID’S MISSIONDr. Bill Steiger, @USAID Chief of Staff, says the success of USAID depends on innovation. @USAIDGH's resources have reached a plateau and they must learn to do more with the same amount of resources, and that means being more innovative. #innovate4health pic.twitter.com/I1ngkhgrc4— Cassie Kobrin (@CassieKobrin) August 14, 2019 Chief of Staff Bill Steiger says @USAID looks at innovation in 4 ways: 1️⃣offerings 2️⃣delivery3️⃣process4️⃣innovative finance #Innovate4health pic.twitter.com/FIBZ6VjXwT— PATH Advocacy (@PATHadvocacy) August 14, 2019 “#GlobalHealth is our largest bureau. It’s 40% of what we do. It’s the most innovative and #data driven of all of our organizing units.” - Dr. Bill Steiger, @USAID Chief of Staff, on how health innovation at USAID is advancing the journey to self-reliance. #innovate4health pic.twitter.com/F1SjiZuCXU— USAID Global Health (@USAIDGH) August 14, 2019 “We are a risk averse organization and we need our stakeholders to tell us to take a risk. Our core business is that we give away money. We need to get better at it & more innovative about it.”- @USAID’s Dr. Bill Steiger on #globalhealth at @GHTCoalition. #innovate4health pic.twitter.com/HcthEvVwDV— Lippi (@lippidoshi) August 14, 2019 @USAIDGH is willing to take more risks, expanding how we work with the private sector to involve co-creation at the front-end and use blended finance vehicles, CoS Bill Steiger #Innovate4Health— Innovation & Impact (@CIIimpact) August 14, 2019 @USAID Chief of Staff Bill Steiger notes that #globalhealth R&D is critical to the journey of self-reliance and the importance of making innovations more affordable and more widely available. #Innovate4Health pic.twitter.com/9x1C95xeqz— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) August 14, 2019 One of @USAIDGH's goals is to deliver technical expertise to countries and partner with them on their #JourneyToSelfReliance. - Dr. Bill Steiger, Chief of Staff, @USAID #innovate4health— Heather Ignatius (@HeatherIgnatius) August 14, 2019 INSIGHTS FROM OUR PANELISTS ON THE CHALLENGES & PROMISE OF HEALTH INNOVATION The panel discussion featured Renuka Gadde, Vice President of Global Health at BD; Meghan Majorowski, Senior Advisor at USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact; Dr. Zeda Rosenberg, founder and CEO of the International Partnership for Microbicides; Dr. Mel Spigelman, President and CEO of TB Alliance; and Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst, Deputy Assistant Administrator in the USAID Bureau for Global Health. Two points from Dr. Wunbbenhorst of @USAIDGH that resonated with me:1️⃣We’re talking about innovation & tech in the service of human beings.2️⃣Innovation in development is a long game. Bc USAID isn’t in biz of making a profit, it can support long innovation.#innovate4health— Lippi (@lippidoshi) August 14, 2019 Excited by @GHCoalition's panel discussion which included...Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, USAID. Sidebar: Presentation truly motivated me to learn more about SLAB - Saving Lives at Birth. #Innovate4Health pic.twitter.com/h1HnN3mI4d— Sally S. Cherry, BS, MT-ASCP (@CherryNetwork) August 14, 2019 Meghan Majorowski of @USAID’s @CIIimpact talks about how the center taps into the expertise of the private sector to address #globalhealth challenges with innovation. #Innovate4Health pic.twitter.com/UiialUzOre— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) August 14, 2019 "We can do more with less if we are willing to invest in innovation". Mel Spigelman, President & CEO of @TBAlliance highlighting the importance of advancing R&D in a time of constrained resources. #Innovate4Health pic.twitter.com/3LiEL7Wy6T— Philip Kenol (@Phil_kenol88) August 14, 2019 Renuka Gadde, VP of #GlobalHealth @BDandCo, highlights the company’s partnership with @USAID and the importance of collaboration with the agency to develop lifesaving innovations. #Innovate4Health pic.twitter.com/BOq4tDdOVN— GHTC (@GHTCoalition) August 14, 2019 “@GCDSavingLives does spark innovations but they’re complex. We need to think abt scale. If they were simple, private companies would have chased them. Scale is not about pilots, it’s about mothers & children’s access wherever they are.” - Renuka Gadde @BDandCo #innovate4health pic.twitter.com/u4mkF77ntT— Lippi (@lippidoshi) August 14, 2019 “Times lost are lives lost. Need to be ways to fast track product development.” - Renuka Gadde @BDandCo on harmonization of countries for regulatory processes #innovate4health— Lippi (@lippidoshi) August 14, 2019 Our CEO Zeda Rosenberg on hearing from empowered research center staff and role of @USAIDGH capacity building support at #innovate4health pic.twitter.com/hyruqcI3Tc— IPM (@IPMicrobicides) August 14, 2019 To learn more about health innovation at USAID, check out GHTC’s latest report. It examines how USAID’s investments in global health innovation are an essential enabled in accelerating partner countries along the journey to self-reliance and provides actionable recommendations to the Administration and Congress to maximize the impact of USAID’s health research and development activities.

GHTC held a Game changers in global health game night on Capitol Hill to educate Congressional staffers about the impact of US leadership in global health research and development (R&D). Our guests ate, drank, played games, and learned how US investments in global health R&D not only saves lives around the world, but also generates benefits here at home in the United States. Here are some of our favorite photos from the night: Playing "ROI: Return on Innovation" claw game to see the impressive return generated by US investments in global health R&D. These investments save lives around the world, spur US economic growth, generate cost savings, and protect Americans from disease threats.  Pulling a block from the "Agency Jenga" game to learn a fun fact about the important and unique contributions made by each US government agency involved in global health R&D. Playing "Heads Up: Puzzling Pathogens" to test whether their neglected disease knowledge is heads above the rest. In the battle to outsmart infectious diseases, pathogens may puzzle us, but R&D is the best resource we have to knock out dangerous diseases. Testing her global health research knowledge to determine whether an innovation described is a "Trick or Treatment?" We still don't have the tools needed to combat many global health challenges, but every day brings new, exciting breakthoughs. Some seem simple but others seem like science fiction. Players try to determine whether tools described are on the market or make believe. A guest spins the "Wheel of Progress" to receive a trivia question about a US agency involved in global health R&D. GHTC Director Jamie Bay Nishi talks about GHTC's mission and the critical role of global health R&D in addressing the world's most pressing health challenges. Playing "Striking out Disease" bowling to experience how changing funding levels for global health R&D impacts our ability to strike out the world's deadliest diseases. This player experienced a funding increase and was able to bowl with our jumbo ball. Playing "Race for a Cure" to learn about the global health R&D process. It takes an average of 12-15 years to develop a vaccine. This player is racing to see if she can get her vaccine through all the stages of the product development process before the clock runs out. Developing treatments, cures, and vaccines for the world’s most devastating diseases is not easy. Many challenges arise along the path from scientific discovery to lifesaving technology. A staffer from USAID shows off the agency's improved Ebola personal protective suit designed as part of the agency's Ebola Grand Challenge. Attendees visit the "Gallery of Game Changers" booth to see, touch, and taste how American investment is generating game-changing global health technologies. Guests chat with Dr. Marston, Prinicpal Deputy Director for CDC Center for Global Health's Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria to learn about the agency's work in global health research. A staffer talks with a scientist from the Naval Medical Research Center to learn how bateriophages could one day be used to heal wounds on the battlefield and in low-resource communities around the world. USAID staff show off innovations from the agency's grand challenges programs including the Odon device for obstructed birth, mosquito-repellent sandals to prevent Zika and other threats, and an improved Ebola personal protective suit. Staffers check out cookies made with naturally biofortified Vitamin A corn developed by GHTC member HarvestPlus as a sustainable way to combat Vitamin A deficiency worldwide. 

Interested in more global health innovation news? Every week GHTC scours media reports worldwide to deliver essential global health R&D news and content to your inbox. Sign-up now to receive our weekly R&D News Roundup email. Tuberculosis (TB) could be eliminated by 2045 if investments against the disease are increased to US$10 billion a year, according to a panel of experts from the Lancet Commission on TB. The commission has laid out a roadmap for ending TB by investing in a range of actions including research and development (R&D), targeted prevention, and improved diagnostics. It calls for TB R&D investments to be increased from the current amount of $772 million a year to at least $2 billion a year over the next four years and estimates that for every dollar spent on TB R&D there will be an estimated $16-82 return on investment. The commission launched its report six months after the United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB to provide guidance on translating member state commitments into action and investments to eliminate the disease. The Global AMR [antimicrobial resistance] Research and Development Hub, announced during Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017 and launched at last year’s World Health Assembly, is now taking shape in Berlin. Fully financed by the German government for an initial three years as part of a $556 million 10-year pledge to address AMR, the hub was conceived as a way to help align national and international initiatives on AMR and use data to inform the research agenda. The secretariat’s initial focus is creating a dashboard to map existing R&D activities worldwide to produce information and point to gaps to guide policymakers in making investment decisions. Given the influence this mapping could have on research priorities, external advocates are pushing to ensure the hub’s activities reflect the needs of low- and middle-income countries who are not often at the forefront of setting the global AMR agenda. The US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has awarded a two-year, $10 million contract to a US biotech firm to support the development of a vaccine against Marburg, a hemorrhagic virus that has caused a number of deadly outbreaks in Africa and is considered a potential bioterror threat by the US government. The contract with Public Health Vaccines will support advancement of a promising vaccine candidate now in pre-clinical development. If the research shows the vaccine to be feasible, BARDA has the option to provide up to $72 million in additional funding to support the vaccine candidate through a phase 2 clinical trial and begin development of an additional vaccine candidate against the Sudan Ebola virus, a closely-related virus.