Global Health & Tropical Medicine The global health and tropical medicine program provides a wealth of innovative opportunities to participate in clinical and basic research in these areas. Fellows who pursue research projects will have the opportunity to work with leaders in educational, clinical, and research endeavors in global health and tropical medicine. Research Working with internationally recognized figures undertaking translational, clinical, and basic research in health problems particular to infectious diseases in the tropics and developing world Opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration with investigators located both domestically and internationally Clinical Activities Parasitology Clinic at Jacobi Medical Center, a regional referral center Patient population enriched in unusual cases of infections in the returning traveler Management of difficult clinical cases by the application of basic, translational, and clinical science from our fields of expertise Travel to study sites abroad Formal Instruction Advanced training in clinical research and biostatistics through the Einstein Clinical Research Training Program (optional). Featured Faculty South Africa Jacqueline M. Achkar, MD, MS Faculty Mentor Co-Director Global Health Tuberculosis; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine Infectious Diseases; Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology Dr. Achkar has established a successful translational research program in the field of tuberculosis serology and biomarker discovery which includes multiple ongoing national and international collaborations in countries such as South Africa and Panama. Her research is focused on the evaluation of human immune responses to M. tuberculosis in patients at various states of infection towards i) the development of novel diagnostic tests for active TB; and ii) the identification of correlates of protection against TB. Dr. Achkar travels to South Africa and Panama on a regular basis to give presentations, participate in rounds, and continue building her collaborations with physicians and scientist there. In addition to her research related work she also attends on the Infectious Disease Consult Service at Montefiore Medical Center, teaches and mentors undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and is the Global Health concentration mentor for the Student Opportunities for Academic Research (SOAR) Program at Einstein. Publications James Brust, MD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Dr. Brust's research has focused on the dual epidemics of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) and HIV in South Africa. He designed and implemented a novel, home-based treatment program for patients co-infected with HIV and MDR TB and was awarded a K23 Career Development grant from the NIAID to study the program. With collaborators at Emory University, CDC, PHRI-Rutgers and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he has been defining and examining responses to the epidemic in KZN. His research group showed that the majority of drug-resistant TB in KwaZulu-Natal province is the result of person-to-person transmission, rather than inadequate treatment. He holds an R01 from NIAID to study the new TB medication, bedaquiline in patients with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB. This study, which includes investigators at the University of Cape Town will define the genetic mechanisms of resistance and drug-drug interactions with antiretroviral therapy as the drug is rolled out in South Africa. PublicationsResearch Rwanda Johanna P. Daily, MD, MS Associate Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology Dr. Johanna Daily carries out basic science efforts in the analysis of parasite and host whole genome transcriptional data through a collaboration with Dr. Terrie Taylor's (Michigan State) in Blantyre, Malawi in children with severe disease; with Dr. Kathryn Anastos in malaria-infected adults with and without HIV in Rwanda; and with Dr. Harris in basic epidemiology and outcomes research of malaria in Ethiopia. PublicationsResearch Kathryn Anastos, MD Professor, Department of Medicine (General Internal Medicine),Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, Codirector of the Einstein Global Health Center Dr. Kathryn Anastos studies cervical cancer risk worldwide in women with HIV. Healing Rwanda How a compelling email and pivotal meeting with an HIV-positive Rwandan woman led Dr. Anastos to develop model programs for women with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda. Publications Ethiopia Carol Harris, MD Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology Dr. Carol Harris has supported students in projects in Ethiopia involving orphan and vulnerable children care and support, rehabilitation of marginalized women, rural and urban development, and malaria prevention and control efforts. Einstein Physician Offers A World of Compassion Dr. Harris’ work with AIDS patients in Ethiopia has led to an expansive network of programs and services for the estimated 1.1 million Ethiopians afflicted by the disease. Remembering Dr. Herbert Tanowitz We mourn the passing of our beloved colleague, mentor and friend. Professor, Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Pathology Dr. Tanowitz was the Principal Investigator on a U.S. National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center Research Training Grant. Interhemispheric Research/Training in Infectious Disease has the overarching objective of this International Training Grant is the training of biomedical scientists and health professionals from Brazil in infectious diseases research in order to enhance their capabilities to combat the intractable infectious diseases endemic in Brazil. He was also the P.I. on a second grant, Geographic Medicine and Emerging Infections, which provides a multidisciplinary educational program for predoctoral fellows, postdoctoral research and clinical fellows at Einstein. In addition, trainees are offered opportunities to pursue translational research in collaboration with international collaborators in Brazil, India and South Africa. Vietnam Liise-anne Pirofski Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Selma and Dr. Jacques Mitrani Professor in Biomedical Research Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, has established a collaboration with Dr. Jeremy Day at the Oxford Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to study the serological and molecular immune response to Cryptococcus neoformans in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected Vietnamese populations. Publications Latin America, South America and Eastern Europe Joshua D. Nosanchuk, MD Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology As Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, I oversee all aspects of the educational experience of Einstein’s diverse and exceptional medical students. We are continuously striving to innovate our approach to medical education, building upon Einstein’s outstanding basic and translational scientific opportunities, our commitment to community-based programming and team-based active learning, and our rigorous clinical skills experiences. Infused with a humanistic approach to medicine, in which medical students enagage in advocacy for their patients, Einstein’s medical training continues to reflect the institution’s mission of promoting social justice and delivering quality care to all. There are two main areas of research in the Nosanchuk laboratory: fungal pathogenesis and innovative therapeutic development. In Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo, Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk investigates the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, sporotrichosis and paracoccidioidomycosis. In Medellin, Colombia, he collaborates on the role of melanin in fungal pathogenesis. He also collaborates on studies in Szeged, Hungary elucidating aspects of the biology of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida parapsilosis. Publications Tropical Medicine in the Bronx Louis M. Weiss, MD, MPH Professor, Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Pathology (Parasitology and Tropical Medicine)Director of Academic Affairs and Research (Pathology) Co-Director of the Einstein Global Health Center Dr. Weiss is the current Chairman of the Global Health Center Steering Committee. Dr. Weiss's involvement in global health stems from his interests and activities in parasitology and tropical medicine. He has been involved in studies on the treatment , diagnosis and basic biology of Toxoplasmosis, Babesiosis, Chagas Disease, Microsporidiosis, Cryptosporidiosis and Isosporiasis. He is a consultant to the diagnostic parasitolgy laboratory and has a clinical consultative practice in travel medicine, infectious diseases, and parasitology. He would be happy to have students or fellows rotate or work in his laboratory. He can also help, as part of what he does in the Global Health Center, to find International Experiences for the fellows. Publications Christina Coyle, MD, MS Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Assistant Dean for Faculty Development Dr. Coyle has been practicing tropical medicine for twenty-five years and is recognized as an expert in the larval tapeworms neurocysticercosis and echinococcus. She has co-authored chapters and articles on these and many other tropical diseases and runs an active Tropical Medicine Clinic in the Bronx in New York City. Since 2007 she has been a site director for GeoSentinel, the global surveillance network of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She also functions in the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) and American Society Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Clinical Standards and Treatment Guidelines Committee for neurocysticercosis. In addition, she co-directs the annual ASTMH Update Course since 2008, which provides clinically relevant education in the field of tropical medicine and parasitology, in order to reduce global health disparities. Dr. Coyle is a deeply committed educator. Since her faculty appointment at Einstein in 1995, she has served in many different roles in medical education and has been the recipient of almost every teaching award at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2007, she was appointed course director of Parasitology and Global Medicine Course in the second-year medical student curriculum at Albert Einstein. Dr. Coyle is a much-sought-after teacher and lectures frequently at other medical schools in New York City. As of 2010, she also lectures in the parasitology section of the microbiology course at Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons in New York City. She is the principal investigator for a CDC cooperative grant, "Reducing the burden of neglected parasitic infections (NPIs) in the United States through evidence-based prevention and control activities" and a site principal investigator for a CDC funded grant "Reduction of Malaria in the US Residents Returning from Overseas Travel" out of the University of Minnesota. Since 2007, Dr. Coyle has been the Assistant Dean for Faculty Development at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The Office of Faculty Development, a unit of the Office of Medical Education, tailors programs that meet the varied needs of Einstein faculty. Publications Travel Medicine Inessa Gendlina, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) Publications Louis M. Weiss, MD, MPH Professor, Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Pathology (Parasitology and Tropical Medicine)Director of Academic Affairs and Research (Pathology) Co-Director of the Einstein Global Health Center