Hello All!
In April 2014, ASN' s Dr. Lewis Hsu and Dr. Bamidele Tayo visited the University of Ibadan, an ASN partner site. Dr. Hsu shared his impressions after the meeting:
In April 2014, ASN' s Dr. Lewis Hsu and Dr. Bamidele Tayo visited the University of Ibadan, an ASN partner site. Dr. Hsu shared his impressions after the meeting:
ASN: I understand this was your first trip to the African continent. You visited an ASN partner institution, the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Any first impressions about the work you see being done there?
Dr. Hsu: The energetic and skilled clinicians are making the most of limited resources. They have a strong emphasis on teaching residents and fellows.
Dr. Hsu with Dr. Titilila Akingbola (ASN partner in Ibadan, Nigeria) and medical residents at the University of Ibadan
ASN: In the opening ASN discussion (see here) you highlighted the importance of sickle cell patients and resource-poor collaborating centers gaining direct health benefits from research. Having now visited one of the centers, are there any further comments you can make on the topic? Areas of interest?
Dr. Hsu: There are so many patients! The amount of medical need causes me to still think that direct health benefits are important to build into research projects. Faculty training in research appears to be underway through different channels (Fogarty, Wellcome) and nurturing some very smart people who are ready to start projects.
ASN: The purpose of the visit was to "work on issues related to randomization and treatment." Anything interesting to report? Challenges? Breakthroughs?
Dr. Hsu: Dr. Bamidele Tayo and Dr. Titilola Akingbola have started a two-phase project and this visit is to solidify the collaboration. I had the opportunity to observe the team obtain informed consent in English and in local languages, from adult patients and from parents of pediatric patients. I saw them draw blood from patients with poor veins, with good skill but with technique that might create hemolysis artifacts and make those parameters suspect.
ASN: The implementation of a new born screening program, in collaboration with the Ibadan Team is one of the goals of this collaboration. What is the most challenging aspect of realizing this goal right now? Have there been any steps forward?
Dr. Hsu: Dr. Idowu Ayede built up a regional infrastructure from her neonatal sepsis prevention project. This includes community health educators for mothers, newborn data capture, a data entry team, and a computer data storage system. We are seeking technical advice from Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong and the successful newborn screening program in Kumasi, Ghana, on infrastructure like training culturally-appropriate counseling for hemoglobinopathies and capacity to test a high volume of samples for sickle hemoglobin amidst mostly fetal hemoglobin. There are probably other key ingredients to newborn screening program that we do not know yet. Funding is needed to start the program, and then government policy and long-term funding to sustain the program permanently.
Lobby of the Pediatric Unit
Dr. Hsu continued to express optimism about the prospects of collaborations such as these and their potential to significantly improve health outcomes for sickle cell disease patients in the region.
Have a good weekend!
The ASN Team
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