Guyana Ministry of Public Health’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Boyle. Photo courtesy of Kaieteur News.
The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) recently partnered with the Ministry of Public Health in Guyana and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to launch a new health information system (HIS) that will protect patients’ privacy, maintain confidentiality, and provide security for sensitive data.
In an article in Guyana’s Kaieteur News, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Boyle, described how health officials hope to reduce health service quality inequities between coastal regions and other parts of the country as part of the national 2020 plan, in part by reducing waiting time for medical services and improving patient health literacy. Dr. Boyle stated they expect to “improve access to health information” and allow for “shared responsibility” for health care decision-making by providers and patients.
The health information upgrade is also being supported by PAHO (the Pan-American Health Organization), UNAIDS, and local collaborating partners such as the University of Guyana, e-Government, the National Insurance Scheme, and the Government Technical Institute (GTI).
On April 6, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) headed to the 8th Annual Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Conference in Washington, D.C. I-TECH Zimbabwe presented among many colleagues in the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health, including staff of the department’s E-Learning Program (eDGH), which has worked closely with I-TECH on a number of e-learning and blended learning training programs.
This year’s conference theme was “Healthy People, Healthy Ecosystems: Implementation, Leadership & Sustainability in Global Health,” and I-TECH’s entries highlighted its sustainable workforce development work worldwide.
I-TECH Zimbabwe presenter Vivian Bertman (front) and eDGH presenters — and Zimbabwe co-authors — Leslie Wall and Anya Nartker (back)
I-TECH Zimbabwe’s Vivian Bertman shared results on the use of text messaging as a low-cost, sustainable platform for building health care worker skills and knowledge to care for children and adolescents with HIV.
For participants, time spent off the job decreased from four days to less than one day, and within training programs that used text messaging to keep learners engaged, all participants finished in the time allotted. The team plans to expand learning activities and incorporate additional real-time interactions via text-message-based discussion groups or added face-to-face interactions.
Caitlin O’Brien-Carelli
Caitlin O’Brien-Carelli, an MPH graduate from the UW Global Health program, explored additional sustainable training models. O’Brien-Carelli presented her MPH thesis work on behalf of I-TECH: “Training Healthcare Workers on the Use of Electronic Medical Records in HIV Clinics in Kenya: An Evaluation of Three Training Models.”
During I-TECH Kenya’s first years of training health care workers to use the KenyaEMR system, the team adjusted its training from 5 days to 3 days, and moved the training from off-site to on-site, to increase sustainability and maintain effectiveness. Results confirmed that with the adjustments, training quality was maintained, more people in more facilities were trained, and costs were reduced significantly.
Detailing innovations on the operations front, I-TECH HQ Managing Director Rob Lindsley presented at a conference satellite session titled “Global Operations 2017: Tools for Faculty & Administrative Leaders.” Lindsley’s presentation, “It’s About How Hard You Can Get Hit and Keep Moving Forward: Global Support and PLC Registration in India,” outlined I-TECH’s complicated, creative pathway to country office registration in India.
Photo of Samuel Tadesse and a young community member, courtesy of Theo Angell and Maria Gargiulo.
On January 25, Ethiopia, and the world, lost a treasured advocate and leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS: Samuel Tadesse.
Samuel, who discovered he was HIV positive in 2004, turned his diagnosis into action, founding the Debre Mitmaq Association at the Tsadkane holy water well. The Association is a partnership between the Orthodox Church and secular efforts to encourage antiretroviral therapy (ART) for those infected. It is a crucial alliance that has resulted in a shelter providing HIV testing, counseling, ART, and care for more than 1,300 people. More than that, it is a community of love, support, and rehabilitation. Read more about Samuel’s work with I-TECH at the Tsadkane holy water well.
Samuel Tadesse — and his enthusiasm, selflessness, and determination — will be greatly missed.
The following video was created by Theo Angell and Maria Gargiulo during a February 2011 visit to the well:
Workshop participants were particularly interested in team problem solving.
This month, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Ukraine, sensitized heads and other managers of HIV/AIDS clinics and centers on how to implement continuous quality improvement (CQI) by applying an approach known as the Clinical Assessment for Systems Strengthening, or ClASS, model.
The MOH’s Center of Public Health and I-TECH Ukraine held a two-day ClASS sensitization workshop for HIV clinicians from seven regions of Ukraine that are new to ClASS. The ClASS approach addresses CQI and identifies areas for improvement and assessment as well as detailed follow-up actions.
Presentation of the model was supplemented by reports and success stories shared by teams from Cherkasy, Kyiv, Chernivtsi Oblast, and Kryviy Rig City AIDS Centers, along with other sites that participated in ClASS between 2014 and 2016. The exchange of this experience proved effective in ensuring buy-in from new regions and raised their interest in and excitement about the model and its potential impact.
I-TECH’s Iryna Yuryeva presents the ClASS model to the workshop.
I-TECH Ukraine Program Director Iryna Yuryeva, who presented the ClASS model, said she was encouraged by the response to the workshop. Perceptions among the new audience shifted “amazingly quickly” she said, “from extreme concern, anxiety, and belief that almost nothing can and should be improved at their health care facilities to sincere and passionate interest and impatient anticipation of ClASS visits in the coming months.”
Participants expressed keen interest in the ClASS approach, which emphasizes team problem-solving and joint identification of ways to improve assessment, develop operational and strategic plans, and seek technical assistance when needed to address gaps. In addition, ClASS could also be helpful for health care facilities preparing for formal accreditation by addressing assessment-based practical recommendations.
The “real-life cases and improvements” reported by the participating clinicians, and their ability to exchange experiences and proactively tackle main areas for improvement, were highlights of the training. This is all part of the ClASS methodology, a process that I-TECH’s Yurveya says demonstrates a “natural and evolutionary continuous quality improvement.”
I-TECH Ukraine will continue to support the MOH by promoting the ClASS approach as part of the CQI process in Ukraine, in particular by conducting additional ClASS trainings in seven new regions in 2017.
THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER U91HA06801, THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER (IAETC). THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
Mentor Dailes Nsofwa from CDC Zambia presents a certificate of completion to Kenneth Ngoma from Kasama General Hospital Laboratory.
At a December ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia, a group of health laboratory supervisors completed the Certificate Program in Laboratory Leadership and Management, a blended-learning course developed and conducted by faculty and staff the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) at the University of Washington. The program was implemented in partnership with the American International Health Alliance (AIHA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH).
Effective leadership and management in laboratory settings are critical to providing timely detection, surveillance, and response to infectious diseases. Strengthening these skills has a direct, positive effect on quality of care and the capacity of low-resource countries to reach epidemic control.
The 16 managers, recruited from MOH public health laboratories, participated in nine months of online learning, face-to-face meetings, and mentorship. Courses covered leadership and management skills, and also topics related to implementing diagnostic technology, managing and communicating laboratory information. Participants also designed and implemented a capstone project designed to improve their laboratories’ operations. Online modules were developed with support from the UW Department of Global Health’s E-Learning Program (eDGH).
This certificate program is intended for middle- to senior-level clinical and public health laboratory leaders such as managers and directors, medical technologists, health scientists, and physician scientists interested in improving medical laboratory operations and evidence-based health policymaking. The blended-learning format allows participants to remain employed during their studies.
This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under U91HA06801, the International AIDS Education and Training Center (IAETC). The content of this post is the author’s and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
A patient-trainer (left) performs a scenario with a clinician in Trinidad.
For many communities in the Caribbean Region, barriers to high-quality HIV treatment and care often arise before a client crosses the clinician’s threshold.
“When [key populations] access health care – and when we say key populations, we mean MSM [men who have sex with men], sex workers, transgender people – they are immediately discriminated against,” says Kenyatta Barnaby, a Key Populations (KP) Advisor working with the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) in Jamaica.
“They can’t relate to the clinician or anyone in their surroundings,” continues Barnaby, “and before they even get to [see] the clinician, there is discrimination in the waiting area.”
If a patient makes it far enough to see a clinician, the stakes become higher – misunderstandings and miscommunication can have grave consequences. Barnaby notes that, often, clients from key populations are afraid to contradict a clinician’s assumptions and may not share information that’s vital to receiving proper care.
When clients do disclose that they are gay, transgender, or doing sex work, “[a clinician] might express disgust or alarm,” explains Conrad Mitchell, I-TECH’s Key Populations Advisor in Trinidad & Tobago. “What happens directly as a result of that is that someone feels alienated, and therefore does not come back and does not get the care that they need.”
When these experiences are shared within community networks, it can result in fewer people from key population groups accessing care at facilities where others have had negative experiences.
A clinician (center) practices a simulated ano-genital examination under the guidance of a clinical mentor (left).
A novel approach using real-world experiences
To address these challenges in HIV care and treatment settings, I-TECH designed and launched Improving HIV Care for Key Populations in the Caribbean, a novel preceptorship program aimed at building clinicians’ capacity to provide nonjudgmental, high-quality, comprehensive HIV care to most-at-risk communities.
The two-day intensive training occurs in a simulated clinic setting, using targeted role-play scenarios based on real-world experiences. “Patients” are portrayed by skilled KP patient-trainers under the supervision of an experienced clinical facilitator. Clinician trainees participate in 8 to 12 different clinical scenarios featuring patients who are transgender, MSM, or doing sex work.
During these trainings, clinicians practice taking a comprehensive sexual history, performing a proper (simulated) ano-genital examination with appropriate site-specific STD screening, conducting rapid mental health screenings, and undertaking individual risk assessment and risk reduction counseling.
The program was developed and implemented by I-TECH in close collaboration with key population groups in in the region. I-TECH developed standardized case scenarios collaboratively with community members, and recruited and trained representatives from the sex worker, MSM, and transgender communities in each country to portray these scenarios as the patient-trainer and to give targeted feedback to clinicians.
Frank, face-to-face discussions
Once the trainer exits the role of “patient,” the clinician is also afforded the opportunity to have a frank and open discussion with the trainer. These conversations are wide-ranging – from the obstacles that prevent key populations from accessing care; to the health care issues they face; to psychosocial issues such as mental health, gender affirmation, gender-based violence, and substance abuse.
“One of the great things that can come out of something like this,” says Mitchell, “is although the person has come in with a physical problem, we are sensitizing the clinician to see past that.”
The patient-trainers share powerful personal stories with the clinicians, noting how small actions or expressions – such as a slight grimace or donning gloves to take blood pressure – can be interpreted as stigma. They offer insight into what runs through a patient’s mind at a health facility: fear of harassment by vendors, security staff, and other patients; anxiety around disclosing they have same-sex partners, the number of partners, or sexual practices; and reluctance to seek care for ano-genital conditions.
The patient-trainers also teach providers about the importance of using preferred names and pronouns, about avoiding the assumption of heterosexuality, and of showing a non-judgmental attitude. “A lot of it is about language,” says Barnaby. “We are equipping them with the knowledge of how to speak to a KP person without discriminating.”
A clinician (right) responds to a patient-trainer’s “upset” reaction during a role playing exercise.
A two-way street
For some clinicians, this training is the first time meeting a transgender person, or the first time receiving constructive feedback about service delivery from the perspective of the patient. Clinicians have noted that they appreciate opportunities to interact with real people from the key population groups and to get feedback on their clinical practice and interpersonal skills directly from a patient’s perspective.
Mitchell, who portrays several patients throughout the training program in Trinidad, also notes that “there is always that ‘wow’ moment with the clinicians: ‘Wow, I didn’t know this was happening.’” Mitchell says that he had a clinician admit to him that the many years of schooling that doctors go through can leave them naïve of social issues.
Perhaps most valuably, the understanding is not one-sided. At the end of the two days, says Mitchell, not only is there a marked improvement in the clinicians, but the patient-trainers come away enlightened, as well.
“Often we forget that doctors are people themselves,” he says. “I think that’s one of the things that the team in Trinidad collectively learned. Because there were a number of doctors that came to the training, and we had sort of a negative view of them…. Often what comes across as negative is this person having a rough day, a bad day, or not being able to give the kind of help they want to give.”
Barnaby echoes that sentiment, noting that a doctor can quickly get a bad reputation within the tight-knit KP communities in Jamaica, and these trainings have helped bridge the gap from both sides. “If the preceptorship trainers can see the doctor’s potential to be good,” says Barnaby, “he gets a good rep in the community, as well.”
So far the program has trained 20 clinicians from the highest volume HIV care and treatment clinics in Jamaica and Trinidad. In the coming year, I-TECH will continue to train clinicians and will also adapt the training for nurses in the region.
THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (HRSA) OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) UNDER U91HA06801, THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER (IAETC). THE CONTENT OF THIS POST IS THE AUTHOR’S AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OR POLICY OF, NOR SHOULD ANY ENDORSEMENTS BE INFERRED BY HRSA, HHS OR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
Study tour participants visit HRSA offices in Washington, D.C., to hear more about HRSA’s mission and activities.
Ukraine has the second largest HIV epidemic in eastern and central Europe; an estimated 220,000 citizens were living with the disease as of January 2016. As part of national efforts to help curb the impact and spread of HIV, the Ukrainian government is expanding and scaling up HIV services – training is an integral part of this scale-up.
To this end, the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) is working with national partners in Ukraine to build local capacity to provide high-quality continuing medical education (CME) on HIV and related topics.
Most recently, I-TECH arranged for representatives from the Ukrainian Center for Socially Dangerous Disease Control (UCDC) of the Ministry of Health and the Ukrainian Family Medicine Training Center, based at Bogomolets National Medical University, to participate in a weeklong study tour in Washington, D.C.
“Participants found the study tour to be extremely informative and timely given reforms to health workforce development currently under way in Ukraine,” said Anna Shapoval, I-TECH Ukraine Country Representative. “The information obtained and contacts established through the study tour will help to inform development of an HIV-focused professional medical association in Ukraine.”
The aim of the association will be to advocate on behalf of medical providers, educate health professionals on new developments in clinical practice and relevant legislation and other issues affecting HIV medicine and patients, and potentially provide crucial CME opportunities.
Tour participants met with representatives from CME training networks, HIV-focused professional medical associations, and organizations involved with CME accreditation and physician licensure in the U.S. Highlights from the tour include:
Meeting with the U.S. Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on HRSA’s mission and activities, including the AIDS Education Training Center Program and other initiatives to improve HIV services in the U.S.
Informative sessions with the Maryland State Board of Physicians and Federation of State Medical Boards on the role of state medical boards in physician licensure
An overview and discussion on CME accreditation requirements and standards for commercial support
Meetings with various HIV-focused professional medical associations to discuss their establishment, funding models, advocacy work, CME and certification offerings, and lessons learned
The study tour participants identified several aspects of the U.S. CME and licensure systems to explore further and potentially apply in Ukraine, including decentralized licensure, nongovernmental CME accreditation, and diverse CME providers such as universities and professional associations.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under U91HA06801, the International AIDS Education and Training Center (IAETC). The content of this post is the author’s and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
The Dogg performs to a crowd in Katima Mulilo, Namibia. The Dogg plans to set an example by getting circumcised next month.
Namibian newspaper New Erareported today that hip hop artist The Dogg (real name Martin Morocky) has agreed to be circumcised next month by Dr. Bernard Haufiku, Namibia’s Minister of Health and Social Services, as part of the country’s voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) program. The procedure is to take place on Minister Haufiku’s birthday, Sept. 19.
The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), with PEPFAR funding, has supported the VMMC efforts of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) in the Oshana and Zambezi regions on many fronts. Between 2010 and 2014, I-TECH supported health care worker training in the provision of VMMC nationwide and has supported the delivery of VMMC procedures since November 2014. Since the start of this year, I-TECH has also been engaged in critical efforts to create demand for the procedure.
Marocky, who lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS, was previously involved in the MOHSS’s “Break the Chain” campaign to reduce concurrent sexual partnerships in Namibia. He’s been a VMMC ambassador since May 2016, serving as the face behind a nationwide concert and social media campaign urging 15- to 49-year-old men to “get the smart cut.”
The Dogg shares the message of HIV prevention with a school in Katima Mulilo.
So far, Marocky has held nine concerts in the Erongo, Oshana, and Zambezi regions, as well as delivered encouragement to young men through radio talk shows and TV advertisements. He has also spoken one-on-one to young men about the preventive benefits of VMMC — namely, that the procedure can reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 60%.
“I’ve encouraged ‘the smart cut’ through my music and appearances,” said Marocky. “But I’m now looking forward to protecting myself and setting a personal example for young Namibian men.”
The musician will join the more than 11,200 men in Oshana who have undergone a VMMC since 2009. More than 80% of the 12,250-plus procedures performed with I-TECH support since January 2015 are in the high-priority 15- to 29-year-old age group.
Currently, only about a quarter of Namibian men are circumcised. Overcoming cultural hurdles and mobilizing men to get the procedure has become a high priority for the MOHSS.
“Training clinicians in the procedure is only half the battle,” said I-TECH Namibia Country Director Norbert Forster. “Getting the word out to young men about the benefits of VMMC is crucial to ensuring the success of this intervention. The Dogg’s campaign has gone a long way toward changing minds and attitudes.”
The MOHSS and I-TECH are jointly engaging in a number of additional demand generation activities, which mainly focus on school-aged boys and young working men. One such activity, a bicycle lottery, is highlighted below.
Community Members Win Bicycle Lottery After Volunteering for VMMC
The MOHSS, with the support of I-TECH, has awarded the first two winners of new bicycles in a lottery held at Katima Mulilo State Hospital in the Zambezi Region.
The lottery was implemented to encourage more men to come in for VMMC; Zambezi remains the region most affected by HIV/AIDS in Namibia.
The first winner is an NDF soldier. His winning ticket was drawn out of the first group of men who were circumcised between March 1 and April 30, 2016, in the Zambezi region. The second winner, drawn from the May to July cohort, was a 16-year-old attending Mavuluma Senior Secondary School, a remote school in eastern Zambezi region.
During June of this year, the MOHSS Zambezi region team managed to mobilize and circumcise a total of 773 men as part of its I-TECH-supported VMMC program. The vast majority of recipients were between 15 and 29 years of age.
This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under U91HA06801, the International AIDS Education and Training Center (IAETC). The content of this post is the author’s and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Dr. Chris Behrens (center) and participants at a pilot training event in Uzhgorod.
In June 2016, the academic and professional communities involved in training family physicians and general practitioners in Ukraine received another valuable guide to a highly sensitive topic.
The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Family Medicine Training Center (UFMTC) at the Bogomolets National Medical University (NMU), and the International Renaissance Foundation, all under the auspices of the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Ukraine, published “Use of Narcotic, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors in the Practice of Family Medicine.” This facilitator’s guide (published in Ukrainian) was developed by Ukrainian and international experts in the fields of palliative care, controlled drug use, and pain management.
“The uniqueness of this publication is its extremely topical and, until recently, understated issue in Ukraine: provision of medical care with the use of controlled drugs, including opioid analgetics,” said Kateryna Amosova, Rector of the Bogomolets NMU.
The guide incorporates recent, groundbreaking updates in Ukrainian legislation. Resolution #333 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Order #494 of the MoH legitimize primary health care providers to prescribe and manage opioids for pain management in palliative care and opioid substitution therapy (OST).
“I-TECH Ukraine was honored to be able contribute to the development of the in-service training course that promotes most progressive principles of palliative care and OST provision for patients, including those with HIV, tuberculosis, and other HIV-associated diseases,” said Anna Shapoval, Country Representative for I-TECH Ukraine. “As always, we express our profound gratitude to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, HRSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC in Ukraine, and the International Renaissance Foundation for supporting this project.”
The goal of this training curriculum is to provide participants with the skills and knowledge required to form competencies in applying narcotic, psychotropic substances, and their precursors in the practice of family medicine, specifically in combination with treatment of drug addiction, tuberculosis, and hepatitis.
Participants work at the pilot training in Uzhgorod.
The guide is based on the results of three pilot training events that took place in October through December 2015 in Uzhgorod and Kyiv. Dr. Chris Behrens, Clinical Associate Professor in the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health, co-facilitated the first event in Uzhgorod. Dr. Behrens also co-authored the guide, along with leading experts from the Bogomolets NMU, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for the Drug Use Control, the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Clinical Center for Palliative Care, the Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih City AIDS Centers, and the International Renaissance Foundation.
The course covers such essential themes as:
The role of family physicians and primary health care facilities in using narcotic and psychotropic drugs and their precursors;
Legal and organizational principles of applying narcotic and psychotropic drugs and their precursors in primary health care practice in Ukraine;
Mental health; pre-conditions and types of opioid addiction; HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in IDUs; palliative and hospice care;
Principles and use of opioid maintenance therapy in primary health care, including the patients living with HIV/AIDS; and
Principles and use of narcotic and psychotropic drugs and their precursors in provision of palliative and hospice care, including patients living with HIV/AIDS.
The MoH of Ukraine recommends this guide as a tutorial for clinical interns and doctors enrolled in in-service or continuous medical education training programs, as well as for faculty of the Ukrainian medical universities and colleges that train doctors and nurses as general practitioners and family doctors. The guide has been already disseminated to about 60 medical universities and the largest medical colleges in Ukraine.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under U91HA06801, the International AIDS Education and Training Center (IAETC). The content of this post is the author’s and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
On June 17, Dr. Robert Martin, University of Washington professor and Director of Laboratory Systems Strengthening at UW’s International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), will receive the American Society for Microbiology’s 2016 Hologic Joseph Public Health Award at the ASM Microbe 2016 conference in Boston.
The award takes its name from J. Mehsen Joseph, who directed the Maryland State Laboratory for decades and was instrumental in working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand the role of public health laboratories.
“When someone receives an honor like this, it reflects not only on the individual but on the institution and its leadership, which have provided an environment for accomplishments,” said Dr. Martin. “That has certainly been true of UW and I-TECH.
“This award means a lot to me,” Dr. Martin continued, “because as director of the Michigan Public Health Laboratories, I knew and worked closely with Dr. Joseph on a number of national projects through the Association of Public Health Laboratories. He was a great individual and a great leader for public health laboratory science.”
Prior to his post at UW, Dr. Martin served as director of the Division of Laboratory Systems at the CDC, launching the National Laboratory System to link private and public sector laboratories. His engagement of participating private sector laboratories established working relationships between public and private sector laboratories that extend to the present. He also contributed to integrating the laboratory role into CDC’s Field Epidemiology and Training Program and the inclusion of laboratory systems as part of CDC’s international activities, notably in China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Previously Dr. Martin served with the Michigan Department of Community Health, becoming state laboratory director in 1991. There he participated in the development of the first national guidelines for laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease and established a state-of-the-art molecular testing service.
Dr. Martin will deliver a lecture at ASM Microbe on June 17 titled “Strengthening Laboratory Systems Globally – Thinking Beyond the Bench,” in which he’ll talk about I-TECH’s efforts in laboratory systems strengthening in resource-limited countries.
ASM Microbe 2016 gathers the world’s leading scientists, physicians, and researchers to exchange ideas and keep abreast of the latest developments and cutting-edge research. The Opening Keynote Session, titled “A Conversation with Bill Gates: Bringing the Frontiers of Science to the Front Lines of Development,” will feature Bill Gates in an interview with Dr. Richard Besser, Chief Health and Medical Editor at ABC News.
On June 17, Dr. Robert Martin, University of Washington professor and Director of Laboratory Systems Strengthening at UW’s International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), will receive the American Society for Microbiology’s 2016 Hologic Joseph Public Health Award at the