New technologies can create gaps in knowledge and access—but with the right planning and investment, they can also close them. Hosted by the Duke Global Health Institute, this panel will explore ways that technology and innovation are expanding access to healthcare and bringing better health outcomes for people around the world, including a few examples of innovation developed at Duke. What makes these projects succeed? And what kinds of policies and investments help them scale up? Join us for a thoughtful exploration of how innovation can be a tool to fight health disparities. 

The event will begin with a reception at 6:30pm at the Duke in DC Offices. Please note: registration for the event has closed.

Moderator

Krishna Udayakumar is the founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, focused on generating deeper evidence and support for the study, scaling and adaptation of health innovations and policy reforms globally. He is also executive director of Innovations in Healthcare, a nonprofit co-founded by Duke, McKinsey & Company and the World Economic Forum to curate and scale the impact of transformative health solutions globally.

Panelists

Beth Eanelli is a second-year student in the Master of Science in Global Health program at the Duke Global Health Institute. She is also pursuing a certificate in in International Development Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy. She is interested in the intersection of global health, policy, human rights and sustainable implementation of innovation and design. As part of her master’s studies, she has conducted field research in The Gambia to evaluate the impact of a novel health innovation that provides solar-powered light for medical procedures.

Pape Gaye is president and chief executive officer of IntraHealth International, a global health organization based in Chapel Hill, N.C., that works around the world to expand access to healthcare for people living in poverty. A native of Senegal, he is a lifelong advocate for health workers, strong health systems and access to health for all. He has three decades of leadership in international health and development organizations, overseeing work in more than 40 countries. He is also a member of the Duke Global Health Institute board of advisors. 

Nimmi Ramanujam is the Robert W. Carr Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke and a member of the Duke Global Health Institute faculty. She is an innovator, educator and entrepreneur whose mission is to develop and leverage technology to have the widest impact in women’s health. She directs the Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies, a partnership between the Pratt School of Engineering and the Duke Global Health Institute that has developed novel tools to aid the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer, among other diseases, while training students at Duke and beyond to create solutions to improve the lives of women and girls globally. 

Wendy Taylor ’90 is a fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation and the former director of the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She has worked for the past 20 years identifying and scaling up global health innovations to address diseases and conditions of poverty. In 2004, she founded Bio Ventures for Global Health, a nonprofit working to engage the biopharmaceutical industry in developing medicines for diseases of the developing world.  She also held senior positions with Malaria No More and the Biotechnology Industry Organization and worked in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, including the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.  She earned her B.A. in public policy studies at Duke in 1990.