February 20, 2012 – 8:10 am
The recognition of Professor Mike Cohen’s study on AIDS prevention as the American Association for the Advancement of Science Breakthrough of the Year was a tremendous milestone for Carolina. Over the last decade or so, Carolina has emphasized the importance of our global and international efforts, and Mike’s work in Malawi is an integral part [...]
This post was originally published in the Chapel Hill Herald on August 31, 2011. A successful democracy depends on an educated citizenry. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “With freedom comes responsibility,” and chief among voters’ responsibilities is keeping themselves informed on the issues. Last week, the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University [...]
Israel’s high tech economy is booming, as described vividly in the popular book Start-Up Nation. On our trip, we had the chance to meet with Jon Medved, who is one of the leading figures in the Israel high-tech boom and featured prominently in the book. Medved was born to a Jewish family in the US [...]
Fascinating first few days in Israel. The American Jewish Committee has put together an extraordinary trip. In the meetings, we have heard from political science faculty working in Israel, as well as one of the international lawyers who is leading the peace negotiations, Daniel Reisner, and the chief justice of the supreme court, Aharon Barak. [...]
This weekend, Patti and I will head off to Israel with seven other presidents or chancellors. The trip is organized and paid for by Project Interchange, which is an effort by the American Jewish Committee to provide greater exposure to our group of the complex issues facing Israel and the region. The trip is co-chaired [...]
I had the opportunity to spend time more time learning about medicine from Mike Cohen. Last time, we were in an AIDS clinic in Malawi. This time, we were on the infectious diseases ward here in Chapel Hill. There were a lot of differences between the two experiences, but there were a lot of similarities, [...]
December 20, 2010 – 9:00 am
As I stated a few posts ago, I had the opportunity to sit in with a band in Malawi at the goat roast. The bandleader is named James Msalakwa and the band was named Jirere. You can see the band name on the drums. Sitting in with Jirere. The drummer was impressive. His hi-hat was [...]
December 16, 2010 – 12:21 pm
On our last day in Malawi, we went to the Dzama village outside of town. It was the kind of place you know must exist, but until you see it in person, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like. At the Dzama well. The only running water was from a well, and there was no [...]
December 15, 2010 – 2:56 pm
What a day in Lilongwe. We started at the Bwaila antenatal clinic. This is where UNC led a famous study called BAN, which determined the best course for treating HIV-positive mothers to prevent transmission of the virus to their children. Thanks to the work of our researchers, the rate of transmission of HIV to babies [...]
December 13, 2010 – 10:10 am
This afternoon we landed in Lilongwe, Malawi. The flight from Johannesburg was about 2 hours. After checking into Wendels Guest House, where we had a decent internet connection (and the Sunday NY Times), we went over to the UNC Project buildings to hear from the researchers working there. My cousin, John, from OB-GYN is on [...]