A pair of Morehouse School of Medicine neuroscientists, Drs. Roger Simon and Dawn McGuire, recently visited the medical school at Mekelle University in Ethiopia. Thier objective was to explore the possibility for research collaboration with Morehouse School of Medicine on HIV/AIDS and stroke. Remarkably, both maladies afflict a young cohort of Africans in both Ethiopia and America.
The project is especially close to Dr. McGuire’s heart, who has been researching ways to reduce the high prevalence of neurological disease in African American populations.
At the invitation of Dean Epherm Tekle, Drs. Simon and McGuire visited the medical school and provided lectures on AIDs neurology, coma and epilepsy, and examined hospitalized and out-clinic patients with neurologic disorders. They also visited with students and faculty — some whom they reconnected with after a previous engagement in the Ethiopia Public Health Training Initiative of The Carter Center and were introduced to faculty interested in the use of internet technology in public health. Medical care in evolving societies was also a major topic of conversation.
Dr. Simon serves as the director of Translational Programs in Stroke, and professor of Medicine (Neurology) and Neurobiology at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. McGuire serves as an adjunct Professor of Neurology at the Neurosciences Institute of Morehouse School of Medicine.
Annually ranking as one of the top U.S. medical schools in the percentage of graduates practicing primary care specialties, Morehouse School of Medicine is committed to helping under served communities. Potential clinical and research interactions for Morehouse School of Medicine students and faculty with Mekelle Medical School will be presented to the collegiate institution’s dean, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice. –yvette caslin
