Health Challenge Research
Current Projects
Infectious Disease/Biodiversity
Andrew Dobson and David Wilcove are focusing on the role that biodiversity plays in buffering infectious disease outbreaks of zoonotic and vector borne diseases in East Africa providing important insights into shaping health policy throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This award supported the research of five undergraduates during the summers of 2010 and 2011; four in Tanzania and one in Kenya. more >>
Global AIDS Treatment
Using the Brazilian therapeutic response to HIV/AIDS as an ethnographic baseline, João Biehl assesses the aftermath of large-scale drug access programs in Latin America and Africa. The project has involved more than 20 undergraduates in field research projects around the globe. Funding from the Ford Foundation has supported forward movement. more >>
Disease Management
Simon Levin and Ramanan Laxminarayan lead an integrated research and teaching program to address challenges in drug resistance management and the role of social norms in health care. Nine undergraduate interns have conducted research on antibiotic and antimalarial resistance at study sites in Washington, D.C., New Delhi and Nairobi. more >>
Tuberculosis Prevention
John Groves and Joshua Rabinowitz use advanced imaging technologies to monitor changes within human cells in response to anti-tuberculosis therapy. Their study focuses on iron uptake by the bacteria which can be exploited as an early indication of tuberculosis infection. The findings have potential for determining new drug therapy regimes. more >>
Applying Basic Bacteriology
Zemer Gitai is studying bacterial structure at the molecular level to identify novel pathways for antibiotic action. His research revealed new mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and identified a simple and inexpensive compound that blocks the growth and virulence of a wide range of human pathogens. Gitai was awarded the National Institute of Health Director’s New Innovator Award. more >>
Potable Water
By designing, manufacturing, and installing ceramic water filters in rural Nigeria, Winston Soboyejo has essentially eliminated the occurrence of diarrhea among participating households. Princeton students have contributed to the development of the filters, the establishment of a manufacturing factory in Nigeria, and assessments of corresponding changes in community health. more >>
Infectious Disease Governance
Evan Lieberman and his students have mapped the authority structures for responding to the threat of infectious disease in a high HIV prevalence region of South Africa, highlighting the accountability deficit in the existing goverence framework. The project also tests a set of hypotheses about the drivers of citizens’ and elites’ perception of the threat of infectious disease. more >>
Next Generation Therapeutics
Erik Sorensen is developing more effective, synthetic analogs of pleuromutilin, a compound derived from mushrooms that has antibiotic response to tuberculosis. Undergraduate research is making significant contributions to their effort to find an analog effective against drug resistant strains of tuberculosis. more >>