Happening Now
Could Yellow Fever Be The Next PHEIC?
Overshadowed amidst vast media coverage of Zika, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been grappling with their own mosquito-borne disease outbreak: yellow fever. For much of the United States, yellow fever is not on the radar, thought of mainly as a disease faced by our ancestors as it has been considered eradicated for over a century. For much of Africa and tropical regions of South America, however, this is not the case. In at least 43 countries of these two regions, … Continue Reading
August 03, 2016
2015 Futures Fellow Leads DURC Workshop In Lahore, Pakistan
In collaboration with the University of the Punjab, HSP co-hosted a workshop on dual-use research of concern (DURC) where 40 PhD students engaged in DURC case study and risk assessment discussions and conceptualized how DURC concepts relate to their own research projects. This event is part of a larger HSP-supported initiative seeking to assess graduate students' attitudes and awareness of DURC. The ongoing initiative stems from a proposal that Samreen Sarwar, a 2015 Futures Fellow and now … Continue Reading
July 29, 2016
The Many Faces Of Global Health Security
It should come as no surprise that the concept of 'global health security', or GHS, means many different things to many different people. In fact, an April post here on HSP's blog looked at just a few of the various and wide-ranging responses given when a group of young scholars is asked what exactly 'health security' means. Definitional uncertainty has been a hallmark of global health security since the phrase found (ir)regular usage starting in the early 2000s. Perhaps nowhere has its … Continue Reading
July 28, 2016
Zika At The Olympics: Should We Be Concerned?
With less than one month until the ceremonial torch is passed in Rio, Zika has threatened to alter the course of the 2016 Summer Olympics, if not halt them altogether. Brazil has been battling a drastic rise in cases of Zika infection since public health authorities first confirmed transmission in May of 2015 within the Northeast region of the country. Shortly thereafter, Brazil reported an association between Zika virus and Guillian- Barré syndrome in July followed by an association … Continue Reading
June 23, 2016
Hey Congress: More Meat, Less Filler
Policymaking in Washington, D.C. is often compared to sausage-making: a slew of ingredients from various stakeholders are stuffed together before the final product emerges. Legislation is frequently riddled with non-germane amendments, which take away from the true need and purpose behind the policy, or is delayed altogether until the ratio of ingredients are tediously negotiated. The emergency supplemental for Zika is no exception. As the clock ticks, the looming threat of rapid spread … Continue Reading
June 20, 2016
HSP Welcomes A New Health Security Policy Fellow
HSP is excited to announce that Danielle Lohman has joined our team this summer as a Health Security Policy Fellow. Hailing from Cary, North Carolina, Danielle is a research scientist working towards her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her graduate studies, she has the privilege of interfacing with various groups of stakeholders ranging from academic and industry scientists to patients and policymakers. In her laboratory research on coenzyme Q biosynthesis in … Continue Reading
June 09, 2016
HSP Receives CDC Award Under The Global Health Security Agenda
Health Security Partners is excited to have received an award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The projects, funded for the 2016 fiscal year, will help prevent zoonotic diseases, specifically rabies and brucellosis, through strengthening diagnostic and surveillance capacity at the regional and national levels in Ethiopia. Rabies, a disease that causes over 59,000 deaths worldwide each year, disproportionately affects … Continue Reading
May 17, 2016
"Make Health Security Great Again:" A Review Of The 2016 Presidential Candidates' Positions
A box of plain white trucker hats labelled "MAKE HEALTH SECURITY GREAT AGAIN" sits on the floor of our offices at HSP, a playful nod to Trump's ridiculous yet bold campaign slogan. This was a perfect punch line among staff when he first announced his presidential campaign last June-until he became the "presumptive" Republican nominee. No one is laughing anymore. Reality has set in: Donald Trump may become the next president of the United States. We hid the hats. Someday they might be funny … Continue Reading
April 10, 2016
"What Is Health Security?": Perspectives From The 2016 Futures Fellows
Prior to the Futures Fellowship Training Institute (FFTI) in Amsterdam this week, the Fellows were posed the question, "What is health security?" The image above captures our Fellows' main thoughts, but here are also some highlights from the riveting responses we received: "Health security involves policies, strategies, agendas, and activities which minimize the susceptibility of public health threats such as pandemics, emerging infectious diseases, bioterrorism, disease outbreaks, … Continue Reading
April 04, 2016
Meet The 2016 Futures Fellows
As the 2016 Futures Fellowship Training Institute nears, HSP would like to formally introduce this year's Fellows. Coming from both the U.S. and Pakistan, the Futures Fellows will gather next week in Amsterdam to learn from experts in the field and collaborate on innovative ways to address health security challenges. From their varying backgrounds to diverse research interests, this year's Fellows have the potential to make substantial impacts on the future of health security worldwide. Stay … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
“Fellow Spotlight” On A Rising Star In Health Security: Raheel Suleman
As we gear up for the 2016 Futures Fellow Training Institute in Amsterdam, HSP recognizes one of last year's stellar Fellows, Raheel Suleman, who will return to this year's training as an Alumni Leader. We caught up with Raheel to hear more about his work in Pakistan, his takeaways from the Futures Fellowship, and his advice for incoming Fellows. What attracted you to apply for the 2015 Futures Fellowship Program? "When I first learned about HSP, I was very interested in working for this … Continue Reading
March 25, 2016
The Futures Of Health Security Meet: Two Week Countdown To Amsterdam
The next cohort of Health Security Futures Fellows was brought together in Lahore for an orientation for the intensive program slated for April in Amsterdam, and year-long program to follow. Twelve 2016 Futures Fellows from Pakistan along with five 2015 Futures Fellow alumni from across the provinces came together for the kickoff. Starting with an introduction from each Fellow, the meeting quickly delved into sessions addressing key concepts such as the vision and mission of HSP, the … Continue Reading
March 22, 2016
Meet The New Health Security Partners Spring Associates
The arrival of our new spring associates is a significant milestone for HSP. The associate program recruits the very best and brightest to HSP to not only bring new ideas and perspective to our programs, but also ultimately make major contributions to advance our mission. As the first ever associates for HSP, expectations are high for Kate Consavage and Hannah Cummins. Kate is set to design and launch HSP's communication strategy, leveraging her stellar background and interest in global … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
The Zika Outbreak: Can We Find a Silver Lining?
Late last week, reports surfaced that the Brazilian government was considering amending its 2005 biosecurity law which restricts international sample sharing amid complaints that international researchers were having difficulty obtaining a sufficient quantity of Zika virus to design effective diagnostic tests and countermeasures (Source: CBC News). If such an amendment is made, it would significantly improve the global response capability by giving researchers around the world access to the … Continue Reading
February 09, 2016
Cooperative Solutions To Local, Global Threats
This week the HSP team attended the 2016 ASM Biodefense & Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Meeting. HSP Advisory Board member, Dr. Michael Callahan, delivered the opening address with the theme "Global Threats, Collaborative Solutions." In his talk "Biosurveillance within a Flat Global Landscape," Dr. Callahan covered a broad range of topics including Ebola, Zika, and the burden of emerging infectious diseases, and how globalization is increasing the rate and way in which these … Continue Reading
August 22, 2015
NGOs And The Global Health Security Agenda
The concept of global health security has incorporated itself rapidly into the vernacular of public health and national security circles. From journal articles to conferences, public sector initiatives to academic programs, the linking of health and security is becoming commonplace. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa accelerated the general understanding of the interdependencies of public health, emerging infectious disease, and national security. The launch of the Global Health Security … Continue Reading
June 26, 2015
From Indonesia To Washington, DC: The 2015 Stewards Fellowship Launch
Last week, we brought together a cohort of Indonesian university faculty to Georgetown University for a weeklong training for the 2015 Health Security Stewards Fellowship. During the first two days, they sat in as students to a condensed course on global health security, which is taught at Georgetown, Cornell, and the George Washington Universities. Guest lecturers included experts from these universities as well as from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of … Continue Reading
March 13, 2015
A Successful Kick-off To The 2015 Futures Fellowship
Earlier this month, we launched our 2015 Health Security Futures Fellowship at the 7th International Conference for Health Issues in Arab Communities in Muscat, Oman. The Fellowship uniquely brought together 26 early-career students from the United States, Pakistan, and Iraqi Kurdistan. Throughout the week, the Fellows were paired with a foreign peer Fellow and attended a series of intensive training sessions ranging from non-communicable disease to intentional misuse of biological pathogens. … Continue Reading