For the past three years, the DGHI International Travel Grant program has made it possible for Duke faculty and trainees to explore new research collaborations around the world – from South America to Africa and Asia. They come away from the experience having built foundational partnerships that often lead to long-term projects in global health.
A recent recipient is Duke Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellow Kristin Schroeder, who is exploring partnerships in neuro-oncology research with the Duke Cancer Institute, and the Departments of Neurosurgery and Pathology both at Duke and at Mulago Hospital and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. She is examining the incidence of meningiomas – the most frequently diagnosed type of brain cancer in low- and middle-income countries. While there is an increased incidence of meningioma in East Africa, little is known about the cancer in Uganda since the country lacks a national cancer registry.
Schroeder returned this month from a second trip to Uganda, where she collaborated with researchers at the Mulago Hospital Department of Neurosurgery, the Ugandan Cancer Institute and the Makerere University Department of Pathology. Under the mentorship of Duke faculty and physicians Michael Haglund, Cory Adamson, Thomas Cummings and Nelson Chao, Schroeder’s work would expand Duke’s existing partnership. Haglund has partnered with Mulago Hospital to establish a neurosurgery training program for Ugandan physician residents.
The already established clinical partnership in both the pathology and neurosurgery departments provided a unique opportunity to create a collaborative research project at both institutions and hopefully form the base for continued capacity building in neuro-oncology,” said Schroeder.
With Duke and Ugandan collaborators, Schroeder is planning a comprehensive study on the incidence of brain tumors, particularly meningiomas, and how they are managed at Mulago Hospital. She’ll work with partners to collect brain tumor samples for genomic analysis at Duke and to establish a comprehensive database in Kampala of patient records on diagnosis and treatment.
As part of a pilot study, Schroeder found that meningioma samples from Uganda appear to be different than those found in the U.S. and other developed nations. At Mulago Hospital, her initial analysis of hospital records shows the majority of patients did not seek medical attention until it was too late for treatment to be effective. Palliative care is the only option in this case, introducing other challenges of having adequate trained personnel and appropriate drugs on hand.
"Ultimately, we hope this work might lead to improved diagnosis of brain tumors and a better understanding of the types of cancer cases seen in Uganda,” said Schroeder. “We also hope that we can begin to find ways to get patients to the hospital earlier for treatment, when surgery and a full recovery are still viable options.”
Kristin’s enthusiasm and DGHI’s grant mechanism is a great example of how such dollars can provide the seed for the development of a career and a larger international collaboration for the greater good,” said Nelson Chao, professor of medicine, immunology and pathology at Duke Medicine.
Learn more about what Duke is doing for World Cancer Day on Feb. 4.
The next deadline for faculty to apply for DGHI travel grants is March 1.
