Office of Global Health Education Funds COVID-19 Research, Service Learning Projects
February 2, 2021
Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases
Students walk past the Old Well on the first day of class for the spring semester on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on January 19, 2021. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
UNC’s Office of Global Health Education (OGHE) is awarding $23,000 to teams of global health faculty and medical students to pursue COVID-19 related research and service learning in the spring or summer of 2021. During a time of global travel limitations and other constraints, OGHE leaders wanted to help medical students stay engaged and build their global health competencies.
“The current moment, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, requires the OGHE to be creative and flexible in supporting our medical students,” says Dr. Martha Carlough, professor of family medicine and OGHE director. “Our hope is to provide targeted funding for COVID research and programs, partnering students with faculty mentors to expand capacity and learning experiences.”
Adds Shay Slifko, assistant director of OGHE, “The aim for our establishing this fund was to encourage and develop medical students’ research training in a global health context alongside our global health faculty members. We hope it’s a mutually beneficial experience for mentor and mentee.”
The five projects selected for funding explore a range of topics related to the pandemic. They include:
ADIOS COVID Project
The ADIOS, or Adolescent Directed Intervention to Overcome the Spread of COVID, Project recognizes that Latinx families are at greater risk for COVID-19 related infections and complications. Historically, Latinx parents rely on their adolescent and young adult children as translators for transactions such as health care.
The ADIOS, or Adolescent Directed Intervention to Overcome the Spread of COVID, Project recognizes that Latinx families are at greater risk for COVID-19 related infections and complications. Historically, Latinx parents rely on their adolescent and young adult children as translators for transactions such as health care.
This project aims to measure the level of knowledge, perceived susceptibility and prevention activities at home, school, and work among Latinx families with an adolescent or young adult who has a chronic condition. The project will also try to determine the relationship between COVID-19 self-efficacy and disease burden, mood, quality of life and parenting style among these families.
Faculty: Dr. Maria Diaz-Gonzalez de Ferris, professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine
Medical student: Anna Kenan
Farmworkers: Providing COVID Vaccine to Arriving Farmworkers
Healthcare providers, nurses, and outreach workers at Prospect Hill Community Health Center will administer COVID vaccines to farmworkers arriving from Mexico at the NC Growers Association in Vass, N.C. UNC medical student Samuel Lidsky, who is fluent in Spanish, will greet arriving workers, provide them with health information, and administer the vaccine to those who consent.
Faculty: Dr. Gayle Thomas, associate professor of family medicine and medical director of the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program.
Medical student: Samuel Lidsky
Nicaragua COVID-19 Study: Data Management and Preliminary Analysis of Lab Findings
SARS-CoV-2 infection rates are surging in Latin America, with limited healthcare resources and little known about repeat infection rates and recurrent cases. UNC Project-Nicaragua is leveraging its research collaboration and population-based cohort to include weekly COVID-19 surveillance in children and their household members. The aim is to advance understanding of protective immunity to inform public health and vaccine development efforts to control the pandemic. The student will be integrated into the binational team to assist with data management and preliminary analysis.
Faculty: Dr. Sylvia Becker Dreps, associate professor of epidemiology, director of UNC Project-Nicaragua
Medical student: Ruthly Francois
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses in Tanzania
By June 2020, Tanzania had suspended COVID-19 testing. Nothing is known of how far the disease has penetrated the country, particularly in rural areas. This project, working through UNC’s IDEEL laboratory, will examine blood samples collected as part of an ongoing malaria study for SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. The hypothesis is that reported cases of COVID-19 remain lower than expected in Africa due to a higher prevalence of mild and asymptomatic disease as well as cross-protection afforded by immunity to other coronaviruses.
Faculty: Dr. Jessica Lin, assistant professor of medicine in UNC Division of Infectious Diseases
Medical student: Daniel Nance
Seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Central Africa
Reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Africa have remained lower than expected, perhaps due to under reporting. This project will leverage blood samples from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study in and around Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to test for SARS-2-CoV antibodies and antibodies to other coronaviruses and describe the incidence of and risk factors for the infection in the DRC.
Faculty: Dr. Jonathan Juliano, professor of medicine in UNC Division of Infectious Diseases
(OGHE will support this research even though the selected medical student had to withdraw from the project)