Global Public Health faculty pilot projects receive seed funding
Five researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health have been awarded seed funding to prepare international research projects on a range of global health challenges. The seed funding assists researchers in project development to prepare for larger grants. The projects span diverse areas of global health, including gene therapy ethics, childhood nutrition, national food policy, cholera vaccine allocation, and occupational safety.
The funding, provided by the school’s Office of Global Public Health, supports the school’s efforts to address complex public health issues to improve the health of populations and individuals worldwide.
How science, ethics, and equity travel for gene therapy for sickle cell disease: A preliminary study in Brazil, Portugal, and Angola
The novel biotechnological advancement of gene editing was recently approved as a therapeutic for sickle cell disease in the United States and has begun to be discussed and understood in the context of three Portuguese-speaking countries linked to each other by colonization (Brazil, Portugal, and Angola). Each country has a distinct set of structural and societal forces including racial hierarchy, scientific infrastructure, and healthcare policies that will alter how the promise of gene editing is delivered.
The project aims to:
- Study how the science of gene editing for sickle cell disease is envisioned for each country and how those conversations connect to ethical motivations like justice and fairness.
- Conduct key informant interviews with innovators, policymakers, clinical providers, and people living with sickle cell disease to better understand the opportunities and challenges around potential implementation, barriers to care, and how each stakeholder envisions equity.
- Explore educational, co-learning, and partnership opportunities between the Instituto Federal da Bahia, in the Department of Teaching, Human Sciences Coordination, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Faculty lead: Melissa Creary, associate professor of Health Management and Policy and Global Public Health
The role of ultra-processed foods on sleep health and cardiometabolic risk in Mexican children
A growing body of literature highlights the impact of low diet quality on poor sleep and subsequent cardiometabolic risk in pediatric populations. However, these relationships are understudied in Latin American populations, where nutrition transitions have resulted in changes in the food supply, including higher availability of ultra-processed foods.
Using data from the PROGRESS (Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment, and Social Stressors) cohort in Mexico City, the researchers will analyze associations of consumption of ultra-processed foods on sleep health (duration, efficiency, timing) and cardiometabolic health markers in Mexican children aged 4 to 9. This work will serve as a stepping stone for future cross-border collaborations and translational research on the topic of sleep, diet, and cardiometabolic disease in Mexico.
Faculty lead: Erica Jansen, assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences. Jansen will work on the project with Ivette Aguilera from the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico.
Tackling diet-related chronic disease through national policy: Examining the challenges of implementing a multisectoral healthy eating policy in Bolivia
This project will evaluate the implementation of a multisectoral food policy in Bolivia aimed at promoting healthy eating and preventing diet-related chronic disease through regulation of food advertising, labeling, and retail. Through conducting interviews across the public, private and civil society sectors in Bolivia, researchers aim to understand the relevant barriers and facilitating factors to the implementation of Law 775, as well as how and why these factors differ across comparable municipalities to affect implementation.
Insights generated from this research case study will be applied not only to improve and scale up implementation of Law 775 in Bolivia, but also to improve implementation of similar food policies in other global contexts.
Faculty lead: Andy Jones, associate professor of Nutritional Sciences
Allocation of cholera vaccines in Africa
Cholera remains a significant public health challenge. Despite being preventable and treatable, climate change has recently exacerbated the risk, particularly in countries with inadequate access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) is an effective tool for preventing cholera outbreaks, the global supply is limited, and OCVs are still primarily used to control outbreaks in emergency responses rather than in preventive campaigns.
This project investigates the association between cholera outbreaks and the allocation of OCVs across 19 African countries and will conduct a more in-depth sub-national analysis in one of the most affected countries (i.e., Nigeria) to isolate the causal impact of cholera outbreaks on OCV allocation. The project aims to shed light on ways to improve OCV allocation in countries in need and to support the construction of novel datasets that could be leveraged for future studies.
Faculty lead: Elisa Maffioli, assistant professor of Health Management and Policy and Global Public Health
A pilot study of occupational hazards among EMS personnel in Saudi Arabia
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers are critical to public safety, yet their occupational health remains understudied, particularly in regions like Saudi Arabia, where localized data on injury rates is scarce.
The study aims to quantify levels of noise and heat exposure as well as the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and psychosocial stress faced by EMS workers in Saudi Arabia. Investigating both single and combined exposures to these stressors will allow researchers to explore the potential relationships between noise, heat, MSDs, and psychosocial health, and the burden of these stressors on an important public health workforce. The findings will inform targeted interventions to mitigate these risks and improve occupational safety standards, particularly in regions with extreme environmental conditions.
Faculty lead: Rick Neitzel, professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Global Public Health
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