Seed Grants

Eight research projects ranging from human and animal disease to agriculture to economic growth will move forward with start-up funding as part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s focus on global health. The grantees were recognized on Oct. 27 at an event launching the Global Health Institute. “The institute’s mission is to tackle the root problems of human health, and to do that requires an unprecedented, multi-faceted approach to these problems,” said Jonathan Patz, population health professor and director of the Global Health Institute. “So it is really exciting to be able to find engineers, economists, agriculture and veterinary and medical science ready to step up to these challenges.” The winning proposals and principal investigators are:

• Hypertension Awareness, Treatment, and Control in Latin AmericaPrincipal Investigators: Leonelo E Bautista, MD, MPH, DrPH1; Lina M Vera, MD, MSc2; Alberto Palloni, PhD3; Juan P Casas, MD, PhD4; Jaime Miranda, MD, MSc5, for the LASO investigatorsWe will use data from 10,496 hypertensives from the Latin American Consortium of Studies in Obesity-LASO to assess the prevalence and determinants of hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in the region. Our study will accurately characterize the magnitude of the problem of detection and management of hypertension, will identify sociodemographic factors associated with poor blood pressure control, and will provide an objective evaluation of the health and economic impact of potential population interventions to improve blood pressure control in this population.
• A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding and Controlling Brucellosis in the Imbabura and Pichincha Provinces in EcuadorPoulsen KP, Hutchins FT, Gaus DP, Van Kekerix MJ, Lopez L, Trueba G, Czuprynski CJ, Olsen CWThe goals are to understand upstream determinants/root causes of brucellosis in the Ecuadorian animal populations, and to educate Ecuadorian animal owners about risk factors for brucellosis in cattle and other species, and transmission to humans (e.g., unpasteurized dairy products, contact with parturient animals).
• The Effects of Agricultural Productivity on Poverty and Household Food Security: The Sahel’s Silent Maize RevolutionPI: Jeremy Flotz, PhD, Co-PI: Sara Patterson, PhDThis work seeks to investigate whether higher agricultural production translates into poverty reduction and better household food security outcomes. We hope to identify ways that farmers of both genders can continue to maintain or improve yields, provide needed nutrition and profit, and minimize damage to the environment.
• Evaluation of Alternative Strategies for Emerging Disease DetectionJerry Zhu, PhD; Bret Shaw, PhD; Lewis Gilbert, PhD; Joshua Dein, VMDWe propose to develop and improve on monitoring processes that will enhance our ability to detect changes in the patterns of wildlife disease occurrence that may signal the very earliest stages of disease emergence in human / animal systems. Expanding the observational corps may be accomplished by both examining content on social networks, and engaging existing citizen monitoring groups to extend their mission to include wildlife morbidity and mortality events.
• Mobile Phone-Disseminated Health InformationMonica J. Grant, PhD; jay K Sethi, PhD; James H. Conway, MDUsing participatory-based research methods, our proposal aims to establish feasibility and to pilot the dissemination of health information within existing mobile phone networks using a theory-driven intervention. These demonstration projects will be conducted within existing study populations and collaborations in Malawi and Uganda that monitor and evaluate child survival and HIV/AIDS.
• Pathways for Poverty Reduction in Haiti: Health and economic impacts of organic mango Production and ProcessingPI: Gary P. Green, PhD; Co-Investigator: Bradford L. Barham, PhD; Co-Investigator: Gergens Polynice, MSThis project examines potential pathways to increase small-scale producers’ income through mango production and transformation for the local and international markets. It will investigate the production pattern and the effects of prices on farmers’ willingness to plant more mango trees as well as assess ways to diminish postharvest lost and disease transmission through proper fruits handling system.
• Participatory Action Research and Planning to Improve Young Women’s Reproductive Health: A lever for change in reaching the MDGsCo-PI: Nancy Kendall, PhD; Co-PI: Claire Wendland, MD, PhDThe study focuses on girls who are approaching the critical stage of finishing primary school (commonly ages 13 to 17), with the aim of developing innovative, gender responsive, multisectoral activities that both foster resilience and protect them from life-stage risks such as early pregnancy and HIV infection, and have broader benefits that enhance family and community health. This project aims to create a scalable model for change that: 1) provides a more participatory way of working with youth to recognize and address the barriers they face in making healthy decisions in their lives; 2) creates a space for new dialogue (and potentially models of governance) concerning the roles of the state, community leaders, and youth in addressing barriers to young women’s reproductive health; and 3) empowers communities, working together, to generate a locally appropriate, multisectoral intervention that draws on both local and international knowledge to improve young women’s reproductive health.
• Fertility, Child Health and Human Capital in Low Income CountriesPIs: Ian Coxhead; Lia Fernald; Jenna Nobles; Alberto PalloniWe seek funding to estimate the effects of child nutritional status on individual characteristics associated with population-level human capital formation, economic growth, and income inequality. In combination, nutrition and attendant health status predict mental and emotional development, educational achievement and attainment and, ultimately, labor force participation, occupational attainment and wages. We choose to study these relations in the context of Indonesia, a country that simultaneously experiences a decline in fertility that favors maternal and child health and nutritional status and the adoption of behaviors associated with breastfeeding, diet and behavior that hinder them.

Each group will receive $40,000 over two years to flesh out their ideas and give them a leg up on securing more substantial funding. More than two-dozen proposals were submitted as part of the global health Incubator, a series of events in the spring aimed at sparking collaborative and multi-disciplinary research that takes a holistic approach to problem-solving. “We want a modus operandi of going into situations with diverse expertise and multiples perspectives, so that we’re more likely to catch unforeseen problems,” Patz said. “Solutions for one problem that cause other, unintended problems are neither desirable nor sustainable solutions. What’s required is a fully inclusive, all hands-on-deck approach. UW Madison is the best place on earth to launch such an effort.”