The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest public health crisis of our time, creating an urgent need for new ideas across all dimensions of healthcare delivery and policy. As an interdisciplinary institute that brings together expertise from all areas of the Duke community, DGHI is advancing critical research on issues related to the pandemic, including the development of strategies and therapies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and exploration of tools and knowledge that can help prevent future disease outbreaks.
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Research News
DGHI Pilot Grants Support Innovative Pandemic Projects
Research will address key issues such as vaccine distribution, pathogen detection and the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Areas of Focus
Biology, genetics and detection
DGHI researchers, in partnership with infectious disease experts at Duke Kunshan University in China and Uke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, were among the first to study the SARS-CoV-2 virus and identify key genetic features that have facilitated the development of novel testing and detection strategies.
Featured experts:

L Gayani Tillekeratne
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Linfa Wang
Professor & Director, Emerging Infectious Diseases Program
Development of vaccines and therapies
Institute researchers are working on the frontlines of clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients, including clinical trials of new drugs and strategies. Several other DGHI affiliates are working closely with the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to study development of a COVID vaccine.
Featured experts:

Thomas Denny
Professor of Medicine and Global Health

Sallie Permar
Professor, Pediatrics

Gregory Sempowski
Professor of Medicine and Pathology

Chris Woods
Executive Director, Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health
Policy analysis and evaluation
DGHI’s policy experts are helping identify and shape the most effective strategies for controlling the spread of the virus, allocating healthcare resources and mitigatingdisparities in care. Led by DGHI’s Center for Policy Impact in Global Health, our experts have been tapped for in-the-moment advice and analysis by global decision-makers, including the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.
Featured experts:

Michael Merson
Wolfgang Joklik Professor of Global Health

Osondu Ogbuoji
Assistant Research Professor

Shenglan Tang
Deputy Director, Duke Global Health Institute

Krishna Udayakumar
Founding Director, Duke Global Health Innovation Center

Gavin Yamey
Associate Director for Policy, Duke Global Health Institute
Effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities
With the institute’s breadth of expertise in maternal and child health, mental health and socioeconomic factors in healthcare, one of the unique aspects of DGHI’s COVID-19 research is our work to understand how the pandemic is affecting vulnerable communities and populations around the world.
Featured experts:

Christine Gray
Assistant Research Professor of Global Health

Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell
Research Professor, Global Health

Eve Puffer
Assistant Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience and Global Health