First Cohort of GKII Student Travel Grants Announced | |
We are so pleased to announce Siddhaparna Sannigrahi and Babu Seenappa as the 2023 awardees of GKII’s Girish and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Grant for the Maternal and Child Health in India cohort!
The Girsh and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Grant is designed to support student travel to India, leveraging the strengths of existing Johns Hopkins University research programs. Mr. Rishi, an alumnus of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is an accomplished tech executive, now CEO of the industrial software company Cognite. He and his wife, Himangi Rishi, established the fellowships with GKII to connect their passion for business and technology with the challenges of urban hunger, sustainable diets, and health inequity.
| |
Meet Siddhaparna Sannigrahi
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH)
Concentration: Social and Behavioral Interventions
Supporting: The I'mPossible Fellowship
"As a first-generation Indian-American, I am proud to be able to meaningfully contribute to efforts addressing global health challenges for vulnerable populations in India. In my own way, it is me giving back to my motherland.”
Siddhaparna is making meaningful impact on global health challenges in India. As a proud first-generation Indian-American, Siddhaparna's story resonates with many of the diaspora.
Driven by a genuine desire to give back to her motherland, Siddhaparna is dedicating herself to supporting vulnerable populations in India. Her passion lies in empowering young people living with HIV, recognizing their immense potential to become catalysts for positive social change. By drawing from their unique lived experiences, these resilient individuals can inspire transformation not only in India but also worldwide.
The I'mPossible Fellowship, an initiative that embraces a comprehensive healthcare model. This fellowship offers support to children, adolescents, and youths affected by HIV, addressing their educational, health, skills development, self-efficacy, and psychosocial needs. By nurturing and empowering these individuals, the fellowship creates a platform for them to thrive.
As part of her work she is embarking on a journey of evaluation. Through support from GKII and its donors, she is traveling to see firsthand the impact of The I'mPossible Fellowship on the health, well-being, and resilience of its participants and uncover valuable insights that will further enhance the support provided to those in need.
| |
Meet Babu Seenappa
Consultant, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Supporting: The Positive Running Program
“Running is not just about winning prizes, it's about winning your health. Instead of running away from problems, run with them and let exercise be your medicine. Your commitment is the key to your success.”
The Positive Running Program incorporates nutrition, daily running, endurance training, and confidence-building to empower vulnerable children and youth to pursue a healthy holistic lifestyle. The purpose of travel is to conduct an evaluation of the program’s impact on the participants and plan scale-up.
The implementation of a regular running program coupled with nutrition education and psychological support has the potential to enhance the health and wellness of children, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds such as orphans and those living with HIV.
| |
GKII Director Melody McCoy Shares India Visit Insights | Learn about Executive Director Melody McCoy’s recent trip to India, with stakeholder meetings and new connections made in Delhi and Mumbai. | |
|
Kunal Parikh Faculty Spotlight
Research Associate
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Whiting School of Engineering
“My mission is to create a world where no person is limited by the circumstances of their birth.”
Dr. Kunal Parikh, a research faculty member in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine sees a future where technology is a great equalizer in medicine. The surface has barely been scratched. Read the rest of his spotlight to find out what else he said about his work and eliminating avoidable blindness.
| |
|
Intern opportunities at GKII are now available to JHU graduate and undergraduate students!
We’re currently seeking:
- Data Analyst Intern (GKII002)
- Data Analyst Interns (GKII003)
- Communications and Marketing Student Intern
Applications are being accepted through the Johns Hopkins SMILE platform. First date of consideration is May 17, 2023.
| |
'Prevention is better than cure'
By Program ACCELERATE: May 10, 2023
Broadening HIV prevention for India's most at-risk populations: Earlier this month, health professionals in India gathered with experts from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Fenway Institute, and USAID to learn about the latest evidence-based practices for HIV prevention.
| |
Childhood immunisation is an essential right of a child
By Rajeev Seth, Aastha Kant, Anita Shet
The Hindustan Times: May 10, 2023
The Government of India commendably launched Mission Indradhanush in 2014. The strategy to reach every child was refined in the Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme in 2017 to cover the additional seven million children who were still missing immunisations.
| |
Asia’s heat waves are a grim sign of the times
By Ishaan Tharoor
The Washington Post: May 9, 2023
A severe heat wave unfurled across a wide swath of Asia. From India to the Philippines, officials in various municipalities shuttered schools and urged locals to stay home and ward against signs of heat-induced fatigue. Scorching temperatures melted roads in Bangladesh, and numerous voters fainted as they lined up at polling stations for advance voting in Thailand’s election. High temperatures are expected to last through the end of the month, as climate scientists and researchers point to the mounting evidence of what human-induced climate change is doing to our planet.
| | |
|
|
Say hello to the new leadership of the South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA)!
-
President: Praneeth Madhu
-
Treasurer: Darshan Sivaloganathan
-
Social Chairs: Rahul Gorijavolu and Anmol Warman
-
Outreach/Social Media Officer: Vidya Babu
| |
|
SGA in the Spotlight
By Resham Talwar, Class President (Class of 2025)
| The 111th Student Government Association of Johns Hopkins University was recently inaugurated at the Glass Pavillion, Homewood Campus. This group of newly elected students will serve as a voice for the student body and work to enhance the student experience by engaging different groups on campus. Elected student representatives from various divisions within the university come together to advocate for student interests, allocate funding for student organizations and initiatives, organize engaging programs and events, improve student services, contribute to policy discussions, and foster collaboration and communication between students, faculty, and the university administration. Through its coordinated efforts, the JHU SGA strives to create a vibrant and inclusive campus community that meets the needs and aspirations of the student population. | |
|
Simran Bharucha: Pride & Beyond - Addressing Health Equity for LGBTQIA+ People in India
The Johns Hopkins Center for Infectious Diseases in India cordially invites you to an in-person conversation with Simran Bharucha, Director of Transgender Health, Project ACCELERATE, about India’s first comprehensive clinic for the Transgender Community, the Mitr Clinic.
Stay tuned for a presentation and brief viewing of the documentary Mitr Clinic - Pride and Beyond.
Wed. June 7, 2023
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. EDT
Refreshments to follow
Mountcastle Auditorium
1st floor of the Preclinical Teaching Building (PCTB)
725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD.
| |
Global Health Systems Summer Institute
June 5-30, 2023
| |
The Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is hosting a Global Health Systems Summer Institute. The Institute is a great opportunity for early- to mid-career public health professionals to expand their skill sets and improve job performance.
Topics include global health technology and innovation, health economics, primary health care, global health entrepreneurship, health systems strengthening, the private sector and global health, health systems management, health policy, health financing, and more.
| |
Health Beyond the Headlines with Barkha Dutt | |
Check out some of the photos from our conversation with award-winning Indian broadcast journalist and author Barkha Dutt!
The discussion explored learnings for the Indian healthcare system from COVID-19 and beyond, gender equity, community building, healthcare in the digital era in India, and the power of storytelling.
| |
Mycobacterium tuberculosis disease associates with higher HIV-1
specific antibody responses
iScience May, 2023
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the most common infection among people with HIV (PWH). Mtb disease-associated inflammation could affect HIV-directed immune responses in PWH. We show that HIV antibodies are broader and more potent in PWH in the presence as compared to the absence of Mtb disease. With co-existing Mtb disease, the virus in PWH also encounters unique antibody selection pressure. The Mtb-linked HIV antibody enhancement associates with specific mediators important for B cell and antibody development. This Mtb humoral augmentation does not occur due to cross-reactivity, a generalized increase in all antibodies, or differences in duration or amount of antigen exposure. We speculate that the co-localization of Mtb and HIV in lymphatic tissues leads to the emergence of potent HIV antibodies. PWH’s Mtb disease status has implications for the future use of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies as prophylaxis or treatment and the induction of better humoral immunity.
| |
|
Integration of a geospatially targeted community-based testing approach with respondent-driven sampling to identify people who inject drugs living with HIV and HCV in Patti and Gorakhpur, India
Drug and Alcohol Dependence: April, 2023
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a network recruitment approach, is effective at reaching people who inject drugs (PWID), but other strategies may be needed to reach PWID at risk or living with HIV and/or Hepatitis C (HCV). We examined the impact of integrating geospatially targeted community-based HIV/HCV testing with an RDS survey.
| |
|
Challenges with the use of Xpert HPV as a screening tool for oral HPV among people living with HIV (PLHIV): experiences from Pune, India
BMC Infectious Diseases: April, 2023
People living with HIV (PLHIV) are at higher risk for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancers compared to the general population. Xpert HPV test is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay capable of rapid HPV detection. Performing the assay requires minimal intervention by laboratory personnel. Its use could improve oropharyngeal cancer screening among PLHIV living in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited diagnostic capacities. However, Xpert HPV performance for oral samples has not been evaluated. Here, we describe our experience with Xpert HPV and compare its results with traditional PCR, for oral samples.
| |
2024-2025 Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Application Deadline: July 17, 2023
These fellowships are designed for Indian faculty and researchers who are in the early stages of their research careers in India. The Postdoctoral Research Fellowships will provide opportunities to talented faculty and researchers to strengthen their research capacities. Postdoctoral fellows will have access to some of the finest resources in their areas of interest and will help build long-term collaborative relationships with U.S. faculty and institutions. These fellowships are for eight to 24 months.
These fellowships provide J-1 visa support, a monthly stipend, Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges per U.S. Government guidelines, round-trip economy class air travel, a modest settling-in allowance, and a professional allowance. Subject to availability of funds, a dependent allowance and international travel may be provided for one accompanying eligible dependent provided the dependent is with the grantee in the U.S. for at least 80 per cent of the grant period.
| |
Simons–Ashoka Early Career Fellowship in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences
The Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University is launching the Simons–Ashoka Early Career Fellowship in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences, a novel initiative by the Simons Foundation outside the United States, and in a developing country.
This unique model of collaborative research in the quantitative biomedical sciences and allied fields has the vision to:
- Build an innovative and multidisciplinary research community using advanced mathematical and computational methods in analysis of health data and in addressing problems in fundamental biomedical sciences with impact on health.
- Extend the impact of the Simons Foundation to address healthcare needs in low- and middle-income countries.
- Incubate pioneering initiatives in the field of personalised medicine, as a model for similar efforts in institutions across the world.
| |
JHU Graduate Student Funding Opportunities | Johns Hopkins University has updated its repository of federal and private funding opportunities for graduate students. Opportunities are pre-sorted chronologically and alphabetically, and can be searched by funding amount and topic. | |
Looking for Student Support? | Johns Hopkins faculty who are seeking student support for India-related projects can now submit position descriptions. We will post them online and share in our email updates! | | | | |
