Arti Ajmani Seth Congdon Bryna Harrington RESEARCH IN MALAWI & ZAMBIA UNC INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

MALAWI & ZAMBIA

 Mentored 8-week research project at UNC Project Malawi, or Centre for Infectious Disease Research Zambia (CIDRZ)  Medical students contribute to established research protocols  UNC Project: infectious diseases, HIV, cancer  CIDRZ: infectious diseases, maternal & child health BASIC INFO

LILONGWE, MALAWI

 Arti: Efavirenz, cancer registry, HIV studies  Studied HIV drug side effects  Examined cancer data sources via a record linkage analysis  Bryna: altered mental status (AMS) and meningitis  Retrospective chart review in the internal medicine ward  Descriptive data analysis on etiologies of AMS & lumbar puncture coverage  Both Arti & Bryna: clinical activities  Ward rounds, surgery observations, morning hand-over meetings, clinical days, pathology lab 2013 MALAWI RESEARCH PROJECTS

 In Lilongwe: Ultimate Frisbee, Chichewa lessons, guitar lessons, going to the food & craft markets  Outside of Lilongwe: hiking, Lake Malawi, Zambia safari, travel to Tanzania LEISURE TIME

SETH’S SUMMER IN ZAMBIA  Worked at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) in Lusaka  Large metropolitan city, Zambia’s capital  Got to travel and take some nice trips  Victoria Falls  South Luangwa safari  Lilongwe, Malawi  visit UNC Project where he worked after college

THE PROJECT SETH WORKED ON: ROVAS  “Causes of Rotavirus Vaccine Failure in Zambian Children”  Prospective, observational cohort study of mothers and their infants receiving the rotavirus vaccine  Primary outcome is seroconversion  Investigating why some fail to seroconvert

WHAT WAS THE DAY TO DAY LIKE?  Study clinic: helping improve enrollment and follow-up visit procedures, study participant tracking, etc.  CIDRZ office building:  Developing a statistical analysis plan  Reviewing and editing study protocols  Status updates for various funding sources  Research ethics committee applications to U. of Zambia and UNC  Clinical research focused– little patient contact/clinical experience  CIDRZ also has a good lab, but he chose not to work there (you probably can if lab work is your thing)

$$$  Lusaka is expensive  Seth spent $1,000 on housing alone, and was lucky to only have to drop that much  You are responsible for finding your own housing. He ended up living in 3 different places in the 9 weeks he was there!  Transport was relatively cheap, but this was because a co- worker gave him a ride or he took minibuses  Was able to afford this trip because of various scholarships: IDSA, ASTMH Ben Kean, UNC CGI Award, UNC SOM Global Health Elective

 Application: due mid-November  October: look for an from Sam Hawes in the Office of International Activities (OIA)  November: statement of interest, CV; December: interviews  Winter break/January: notified of selection  Funding: need to apply for fellowships & funding (~$ )  UNC sources: Carolina Medical Student Research, Med Foundation, Center for Global Initiatives  External sources: Infectious Disease Society of America, American Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene APPLICATION & FUNDING

    Sam Hawes, Office of International Activities   UNC Project Malawi:  CIDRZ Zambia: QUESTIONS?