Inspired by a whirligig toy, Stanford bioengineering professor Manu Prakash, PhD, and his students have designed a centrifuge from paper, twine and plastic that can …
Category: Global health
health++ hackathon aimed for affordability, innovation
I first met Stanford undergraduates Jason Ku Wang and Shivaal Roy last spring after they returned from a hackathon in Boston. Already, they were starting to …
Using robotics to combat schistosomiasis
If you ever find yourself putting a swimming parasite robot into a fish tank full of corn syrup, know that you’re likely to make a …
Millions of children live in high-mortality hotspots across sub-Saharan Africa
The good news is that deaths of children under 5 have fallen from nearly 12 million a year in 1990 to fewer than six million …
Choices for Syrian children
As a direct result of the single worst humanitarian crisis of our time, the protracted Syrian Civil War, at least ½ a million people have …
Building hope in the slums of Africa
In 2007, Wesleyan University student Jessica Posner took a semester abroad to volunteer with a nonprofit in Kibera, Kenya -- Africa’s largest slum -- and …
Stanford otolaryngologist champions ultrasound imaging
Patients with thyroid nodules — extremely common lumps on the thyroid that are usually benign, but can be malignant — are typically sent for ultrasound imaging to …
To control schistosomiasis, Stanford researchers advise thinking beyond pills
Praziquantel, an effective drug used to treat the common parasitic disease schistosomiasis, was believed to be the “silver bullet” to achieve disease elimination upon its …
Just one needle saves a life following Stanford physician’s trip to Madagascar
Stanford emergency physician S.V. Mahadevan, MD, had no idea when he visited Madagascar two months ago that he would help save the life of an …
The international medical brain drain: Are training programs part of the problem?
The medical “brain drain” – a phenomenon in which well-trained clinicians leave poorer countries seeking better job opportunities in wealthier countries – has helped fuel …
Biodesign trip highlights an innovative approach to Japan’s aging crisis
In Japan, the total population is shrinking, but the percentage of people who are elderly (age 65 and above) is expanding. The result is a significant and growing …
Working to improve the health of children in rural Guatemala
Last week, we wrote about a medical student working with Stanford pediatrician Paul Wise, MD, MPH, on a program that uses nutritional supplements and health education …
Guatemala project inspires and motivates Stanford medical student
“Vic-TOR-ia!” Fátima cried, a grin lighting up her face. The 5-year-old had become fast friends with Stanford medical student Tori Bawel almost instantly after Bawel arrived …
A conversation with former medical broadcast journalist Nancy Snyderman
In her three decades as a medical broadcast journalist, Nancy Snyderman, MD, had covered a variety of international health and humanitarian crises but she had …
Zika and reproductive rights: new geographies, similar concerns
As summer inches closer, growing mosquito populations and numbers of vacationers traveling South pose an increased threat of Zika virus transmission inside the continental United …
Filtering pollution one nostril at a time
Last year I followed a team of Biodesign fellows from India as they spent six months at Stanford learning the biodesign process: identifying medical needs …