171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
843-792-1414
800-424-MUSC
|
 |
June 2008
Third-World Research Brings Student Closer to Medicine
 |
| Barclay Stewart |
MUSC student Barclay Stewart is headed to Africa to do HIV-related research for at least a year, and the move from first-world to third-world medicine is one he does with ease and a great sense of cause.
As one of about a dozen students nationwide to win a NIH-funded STUDENT grant from the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences, Stewart leaves for Nairobi this summer to conduct HIV-related research.
"I'll be working on two projects: one that examines the differences in mucosal immune response in cohort sexually discordant women who have HIV-infected partners and differing rates of HIV seropositivity; and another that will examine the interplay between HIV and other infectious diseases that require T-cell immune responses, such as helminthic infections, malaria and other chronic viral infections by looking at transmission rates and outcomes after empiric suppression treatment," says the Savannah native.
Stewart, a third-year student, has previously traveled to Malawi, Nepal and Guatemala to deliver healthcare and conduct medical research.
"If we follow the bio-psycho-social model of health, the poorest patients in the world are not in the U.S.," says Stewart. "I believe we should operate under 'global triage' and treat the sickest and most disadvantaged people first."
He notes that the disparity in medical care between the richest and poorest countries is continuing to grow, and he wants to be part of the effort to equalize it.
"All this wonderful research we do in the U.S. is great but it also increases this gap, and I'd like to decrease the inequity by working and undertaking research in developing nations.
"For example, we've made great strides in the care of patients with heart disease, but we still have little understanding of the immune response to malaria, which is a disease that's been around for centuries and is the third leading cause of death worldwide."
As a future physician and professional, he believes his job is to go beyond understanding and administering the science of medicine to also help advance it.
"As professionals, we have to understand the evolution of medicine, to take part in it and make sure it impacts the way we provide care," he says. "By doing research we advance our field, which is integral to the idea of being a professional."
He's eager to increase awareness of the third world's need for healthcare and medical research. "There is a deficiency in the importance of international health and research at the majority of medical schools in the U.S.," he notes.
In response, with the sponsorship of MUSC pediatrician Dr. Andrea Summer and Dr. Ken Holden, Stewart and fellow medical students have formed an organization, Global Health in Underserved Populations, to foster awareness and support for overseas projects like the one Stewart embarks on this summer.
"I gravitate to overseas work," says Stewart. "It's also an ethical thing for me - I believe the voiceless should also be cared for."
He looks forward to sharing his research when he returns to MUSC next year.
 |
Inderjit Singh, PhD
Scientific Director
Darby Children's Research Inst. |
 |
Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Darby Children's Research Inst. |
|
|
Print Version