Event Recap: Interdisciplinary Global Health Panel
This year, AED came together with BURST (Baylor Undergraduate Research in Science and Technology) to put together the Interdisciplinary Global Health Panel. In this collaborative online event, students were able to hear from Baylor faculty across multiple disciplines speaking about global health from the perspective of their specific field of expertise. The panel was made up of Dr. James Marcum, Dr. Laura Upenieks, Dr. Sparky Matthews, and Dr. Austin Reynolds. Each speaker gave valuable insight into different aspects of handling the COVID-19 pandemic that we should be paying more attention to and also inspired students to discover how their own interests interact with the expansive field of global health.
Baylor Faculty Panelists: Top row from left to right - Dr. James Marcum, Dr. Sparky Matthews, Dr. Laura Upenieks, and Dr. Austin Reynolds
Dr. Marcum is a professor in the Philosophy department and focuses on the philosophy and history of science and medicine. During the panel, he spoke about the history of infectious diseases in the world and the way they have been handled from past to present. He showed how throughout global history, we have been constantly fighting the spread of infectious diseases, as is especially clear now as we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, Dr. Marcum spoke about the specific importance of learning about zoonotic diseases, which can be transferred between humans and animals, as was the case with COVID-19. He emphasized how addressing zoonotic risks is key if we want to prevent future pandemics. This means understanding the significance of antibiotic resistance and bringing to light the unhealthy way that animals are exploited in our society. This is especially true in the meat and dairy industries, and Dr. Marcum urged students to consider the benefits of minimizing our consumption of these kinds of products that contribute to the exploitation of animals. His message to students interested in global health was to recognize how it is a truly multidisciplinary field that involves the collaboration of people with diverse interests and to consider how your personal interests may play a part in these studies.
Dr. Upenieks is an assistant professor of Sociology who researches the relationship between health and social networks with a specific emphasis on how socioeconomic inequalities have impacted health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained how researchers have seen an increased risk of death and disease in those of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and she specifically emphasized how these people are also more likely to be struggling with mental health issues. As a result, figuring out how to handle the pandemic requires an understanding of the greater vulnerability of minority groups that need support. Dr. Upenieks also brought up how the current situation calls for greater support for and knowledge about patients. Due to social distancing and isolation protocols, patients are feeling lonelier and less connected than ever. Furthermore, taking into account pre-existing medical conditions and building trust with patients is especially crucial in providing individualized and effective medical care and combating people’s resistance to getting vaccinated. Her advice to students wanting to get more involved with global health was to keep up with current events and reach out to current workers and professors who focus on global health in the fields that interest you.
Dr. Matthews is a clinical professor in the Honors program and has served in the U.S. Air Force as the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Space Force. He approached global health from the perspective of the medical field and discussed how we must better equip medical professionals to handle global health issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. He focused on the importance of medical professionals having greater education in population health so that they can better understand the bigger picture of screening processes and treatment plans. Dr. Matthews also spoke about the overlooked complications that have been seen in the pandemic that we need to address moving forward. He emphasized how medical professionals must play a greater role as educators who can help explain to patients what is going on with their health. At the same time, facing new situations requires physicians to be willing to take risks and proactively try new things when handling the unknown. In addition, he discussed how we are continuing to learn about the significant impact of isolation on families of patients and those in assisted living facilities and how we need to be active in promoting community and collection. His advice to students was to approach global health from where you are, whether that’s sociology or biology or anything else. From there, find mentors and take advantage of the courses at Baylor that dive into topics related to global health in that specific area.
Dr. Reynolds is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and a human geneticist who looks at the role of genetics in ancient and contemporary populations. With his unique perspective, Dr. Reynolds spoke about how our understanding of the genomes of both pathogens and hosts can contribute to the treatment of infectious disease. Genomics gives us a window into the variations in immune response and disease susceptibility that has been seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, while also uncovering the differences between different strains of the virus that are affecting different areas of the globe. He also spoke on how an anthropological perspective gives us a better understanding of how we need to specialize in healthcare to different communities and cultures around the globe. Cultural norms and different understandings of medicine play a vital role in how information is perceived and understood, so in order to effectively handle this pandemic, we must be conscious of how we approach different groups of people in terms of education about the global situation, the importance of vaccines, and the treatment options available to them. Dr. Reynold’s message to students was to be aware of the different niches of global health that are formed by the collaboration of so many different disciplines. As a result, he encouraged students to dive deep into their interests and find courses where they could experience the combination of different fields in the realm of global health.
Overall, the message was undeniably clear: global health applies to everyone! Whether it involves genomics, mental health, or better equipping medical professionals, when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health issues, the solutions will require the collaboration of fields across the global health community. In the end, we all have a role to play in improving healthcare for people worldwide.
Written by Jasmine Hartman Budnik