UGA Global Health Symposium to host Vietnamese public health experts

The University of Georgia College of Public Health (CPH) and the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute (BHSI) will host the first Global Health Symposium on April 21-22 at the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences on south campus.

The symposium will feature two international public health experts who have been integral in CPH efforts to expand UGA student experiences in global health, particularly in Vietnam – Nguyen Huy Quang, Ph.D, and To Long Thanh, D.V.M., Ph.D .

Quang is head of scientific research and international cooperation at the Hanoi School of Public Health. Thanh is deputy director and senior researcher at the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis at Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health in Hanoi.

Quang has been responsible for arranging and hosting the UGA College of Public Health Maymester Program in 2006 and 2007, much of which took place in the facilities of the Hanoi School of Public Health. The program also included visits to labs in the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis hosted by Thanh .

“You can’t train students for leadership positions in public health without introducing them to their colleagues from around the world. The diseases that threaten the citizens of Georgia do not respect geographical boundaries,” said Robert S. Galen, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean of the College of Public Health and chair of the Division of Public Health in the BHSI.

Quang has been a lecturer at the Hanoi School of Public Health since 1982. Since 2004, he has served as deputy director of a five-year cooperative agreement between the Hanoi School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve HIV prevention and care in Vietnam.

Thanh has been involved in national projects aimed at controlling and eradicating foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza since his arrival at the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis in 2004 . Throughout his career, he has worked for a number of international centers focusing on the development of diagnostic procedures and the evaluation of vaccines for food animal diseases. He is the author of four books and over 50 scientific papers.

Sixteen UGA students participated in each year’s program, said Galen, who directed the study abroad experience.   In 2007, the trip drew five student participants from the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine accompanied by their professor Mary Hondalus from the department of infectious diseases.

The Global Health Symposium will serve to help build momentum behind new programs in global health at UGA. Participants will be able to hear lectures and join in discussions focused on how culture and society, infectious disease, nutrition, and the environment impact public health issues around the world.

Poster sessions will be held each day featuring the public health efforts of UGA researchers and students. Prizes will be awarded for best presentations by students and postdoctoral associates. Additional exhibitors will include the United States Peace Corps, UGA’s Office of International Education and UGA’s College of Public Health.

For a complete schedule of the conference or to register, visit www.globalhealth.uga.edu, or contact the BHSI office at 706/542-5922.
Writer:  Rebecca Ayer