WVU School of Medicine’s Global Health Week begins Oct. 20

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Global health experts from around the region and the world will take on important issues like extreme poverty, human trafficking, HIV, and landmines during the West Virginia University School of Medicine's 2014 Global Health Week.

The Global Health Program and the Health Sciences Center (HSC) Global Engagement Office are partnering with the HSC Interprofessional Education (IPE) Speaker Series to sponsor this year’s presentations. The lectures will feature a speaker at noon each day starting Monday, Oct. 20 through Friday, Oct. 24 in the WVU Health Sciences Learning Center Room 1905.

“The world is a global community,” Melanie A. Fisher, M.D., M.Sc., director of the Global Health Program, said. “Because we are all linked to one another, it is crucial that we discuss important issues like conflict and poverty and how they affect health. Becoming aware of these challenges gives us compassion and motivates us to learn more, so we can make a difference.”

The lecture schedule and featured speakers are as follows:

• Billy Williams, will discuss “Affecting Lasting Change to End Extreme Poverty: The Story of Nuru International” on Monday. A graduate of WVU, Williams worked as an analytical chemist at Mylan Pharmaceuticals before leaving to serve in vocational ministry. He has been part of Nuru International’s team since its inception and has spearheaded Nuru’s grassroots movement and catalyzed its growth from a small handful of volunteers to thousands of poverty fighters around the world. As Nuru’s lead advocate and storyteller, he has been invited to share at events around the country.
• Susan A. Newfield, Ph.D., R.N., and Neal A. Newfield, Ph.D., will present “Human Trafficking Complexities: Assessment and Intervention” on Tuesday. Dr. Susan Newfield is an associate professor and coordinator of international programs in the WVU School of Nursing. For many years she has provided teaching and service to the people of Vietnam, helping fight against human trafficking in collaboration with Dr. Neal Newfield, who is an associate professor in the WVU School of Applied Social Sciences. He is also an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry.
• Ronald E. LaPorte, Ph.D., will speak about “Global Health and Interprofessional Education” on Wednesday. Dr. LaPorte is a professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Epidemiology. He has worked extensively in the epidemiology of diabetes and other chronic diseases. He is also an expert on the use of the Internet for improving health.
• Rebecca Reece, M.D., will discuss “HIV in Resource Limited Settings: Past, Present, and Future” on Thursday. A graduate of the WVU School of Medicine, Dr. Reece completed an infectious disease fellowship at Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. Reece is currently doing a post-doc research fellowship at Brown University, The Miriam Hospital. She also serves as an admitting attending for internal medicine at Providence Veterans’ Medical Center in Providence, R.I.
• Nora Sheets and Arthur Rizer, J.D., will present “Landmines ... Perspectives from the Field” on Friday. Sheets is an art teacher at St. Francis de Sales Central Catholic School in Morgantown. A graduate of WVU, she is the coordinator for St. Francis PSALM: Proud Students Against Landmines and Cluster Bombs and the West Virginia Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs since 1997. Rizer is an associate professor at the WVU College of Law. He previously served at the United States Department of Justice as a trial attorney.

Lectures are open to all health professions students, residents, faculty, staff, and the Morgantown community. Continuing education credits are available through the Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, and Medicine. For more information, contact Jacque Visyak at jvisyak@hsc.wvu.edu or 304-293-5916.

For more information on the Global Health Program, visit http://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/tropmed/.