Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Hosts Puno Global Health Research Symposium to Highlight Research That Will "Save Millions of Lives At Time"

    BALTIMORE, MD, May 06, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Johns Hopkins Puno Global Health Research Team will host a symposium to showcase groundbreaking medical research at The Puno Global Health Research Site in Puno, Peru. The Puno Global Health Research Site has proven to be successful at building capacity to provide global health training for U.S. students in collaboration with Peruvian students. The Puno Research site is unique in that it in an isolated region of Peru, made up of Aymara and Quechua people. Chronic diseases affecting the heart and lungs are the main cause of death in the Puno Region. Due to the isolation from other health issues seen in other parts of the world, the Puno site allows researchers to study chronic disease with out compounding variables. Leah Mische, a medical student who will complete an 8-week research study on the effects of oxygen on supplemental heart activity in Puno this summer, stated that, "This research site gives us the opportunity to study health care where there isn't a healthcare system in place. For me, it's also about sustainable development [of health solutions] in order to address the medical needs of vulnerable populations."

Pulmonary and Critical Care fellow, Dr. Catherine Miele, who has studied the effects of biomass fuels on cardiovascular system at the Puno site since 2009, emphasized the partnership with the Lake Titicaca community was one of the most meaningful aspects of the Puno Global Health Research. " It is really nice to give back to the community that we have partnered with for this ongoing research. Part of our research included providing the families with [cleaner burning] new stoves to evaluate the impact on their cardiovascular health. This has helped to alleviate the daily burden of finding biomass fuel [to cook with] and related health effects from the smoke", says Dr. Miele.

Current research studies at the Puno site include: biomass fuel smoke exposure and lung-heart interactions, effects of biomass fuel smoke exposure on progression of atherosclerosis, cardiac structure and function is affected by biomass fuel smoke exposure, environmental health and hypoxia, the impact of high altitude on sleep disorders, and the impact of environmental exposures on strokes. Katherine Healy MSPH, graduate student investigator, commented, " I am currently researching correlations between abnormalities in the cardiovascular system and night blindness. Working at the Puno research site has given me invaluable experience to apply everything I learned in the classroom." In addition, the high-altitude research site has produced other cutting edge research results from collaborations of researchers.

To sustain all of the innovative cutting edge research performed by this dedicated research team, the Puno Global Health Research Site requires extensive funding and resources for their ongoing research efforts. The Puno Global Health Research Site requires approximately $350,000 in funding each year for support staff and other resources. The project has received funding and support from various sources including the National Institute of Health, Global Alliance for Cook Stoves, Philanthropist Ken Banks, Philanthropist William Clarke and other groups, and are seeking new sources of support to continue their life saving work. Dr. William Checkley, Assistant Professor of Medicine, International Health, and Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University commented, "Our research on the effects of biomass fuels on life threatening chronic diseases impacts over 50% of the world's population. The uniqueness of Puno Research site allows us to leverage opportunities to study chronic diseases in the context of environmental health to potentially save over 3 billion lives in both rural and urban settings."

The symposium will be held on Friday May 8, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the West Reading Room, Welch Medical Library located at 1900 East Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21205. For more information about Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, please visit : http://www.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/news-events/events/puno-global-health-research-site-symposium/

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