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Dr. Gregory Gray, MD (left), Anfal Abdelgadir, MSc (right)
Researchers Propose Improved Strategies for Detecting Future Pandemic Viruses
Duke One Health team members Anfal “Fulla” Abdelgadir, MSc and Gregory Gray, MD of Duke University document the importance of conducting One Health-oriented surveillance in identifying novel viruses at the animal-human interface. The brief report, published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, suggests that this approach may be key to mitigating the next pandemics. Read more
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Dr. Warren Jasper, PhD
Duke One Health Team Wins First Place in FlyRDU Triangle Impact Challenge
Last month, the “Deactivate Airborne Pathogens” team was selected from 16 teams and 90 participants to receive the first-place award in the FlyRDU Triangle Impact Challenge. The team is led by Professor Warren Jasper of North Carolina State University. Other team members include Gregory Gray (Duke), Keval McNamara (Stitch Partners), Justin McCarthy (Stitch Partners), Caleb Studstill (Duke), Emily Robie (Duke), and Anfal Abdelgadir (Duke).
The FlyRDU Challenge aims to improve air travel experience by keeping passengers safe and healthy. In accordance with this, the “Deactivate Airborne Pathogens” team designed a device to remove aerosolized viral particles as they pass through a high voltage charged textile filter. The special plasma textile has potential for use in building-level as well as personal-level protection at airports.
The team envisions using such air purification devices in areas where passengers congregate such as ticketing, screening, and boarding queues. Duke One Health team members will test the effectiveness of a prototype plasma textile device in a special large experimental chamber by measuring how thoroughly the device is able to deactivate aerosolized live seasonal coronavirus in the chamber.
The winner’s announcement video can be found here, and the full article from RDU is available here.
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Yuexuan (Chen) Chen
Duke One Health Team Member’s Book Chapter and Research Awards
In January, Duke One Health team member Yuexuan (Chen) Chen released a book chapter in “The Coronavirus” by James Miller titled “Separate Realities: Being Wuhanese and American Throughout COVID-19". The chapter describes her thoughts and feelings regarding the Spring 2020 semester at Duke while also documenting the realities of life for her family members who remained in Wuhan. Chen Chen commented that, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt as if she was living in “three different worlds that were disconnected from each other: the US, China, and the scientific world.” Her chapter emphasizes the importance of accurate and efficient communication of science with the general public. Additionally, we are pleased to report that Chen Chen was recently awarded the Molly Glander Research Award through the Duke Lemur Center, in support of her undergraduate thesis research work there. She also received enrichment funding from the Duke SPIRE Fellows program and the Undergraduate Research Support Office for her research. Congratulations, Chen Chen!
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Recent Publications from Our One Health Colleagues
Bruce Kaplan, DVM, Dilp. Aves (Hon.), co-founder of the One Health Initiative, explores the development of the One Health movement in ‘One Medicine-One Health’: An Historic Perspective, which can be found here.
Alia Sabra, MS, graduate of the 2018 Duke One Health Training Program, works with colleagues to review contemporary Brucellosis outbreaks in the MENA region in ‘A Review of Brucellosis: A Recent Major Outbreak in Lebanon,’ which can be found here.
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2021 Great Plains Emerging Infectious Diseases Conference
The University of Iowa’s Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases is virtually hosting the 10th annual Great Plains conference on April 15th. The conference aims to bring together professionals, researchers, and students in microbiology, infectious diseases, and related fields from the Great Plains and Midwest area. Registration information can be found here, with discounted rates available until March 19th. Abstract submissions are due by April 9th.
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New Duke One Health Team Members
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Hong Pham
Hong Pham is a junior at Duke Kunshan University, studying Global Health with a track in Public Policy. She is passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship, the study of intercultural competence and engagement and health policies. Her research is currently on intercultural engagement and international education, mobile participatory health surveillance network and pandemic detection, health research based in Sri Lanka, and on antimicrobial resistant pathogens among livestock in China. In the future, Pham hopes to further advance her education in public policy. Welcome, Hong!
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Caroline Robbins
Caroline Robbins is a junior at Duke Kunshan University, studying Molecular Bioscience with a track in Cell and Molecular Biology. She is passionate about genetics and genomics, oncology, and global health. Her current research involves health research in elderly populations in Sri Lanka as well as antimicrobial resistant pathogens among livestock production in China. In the future, Robbins hopes to further advance her education in molecular biology. Welcome, Caroline!
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