Medical College of Wisconsin Global Health Efforts in Europe

Conference Presentation
Dr. Tarima gave an invite lecture at the ""International Workshop on Simulation"" in Vienna, Austria.

Increase levels of regular HIV testing
Drs. Amirkhanian and Dr. Kelly have undertaken NIH-supported prevention research in Eastern European countries for more than 20 years. CAIR research teams developed, implemented, and evaluated the outcomes of culturally tailored community-level social network interventions to reduce HIV risk behavior and increase levels of regular HIV testing. Current CAIR research is aimed at the implementation and evaluation of interventions that reach persons with diagnosed HIV infection who are not reliably linked to medical care or are not virally suppressed.

Respiratory Physiology Research
Dr. Forster has been a respiratory physiology research collaborator with Split Medical School.

Collaborative research with University of Split School of Medicine
Dr. Subcynski is doing collaborative research and co-authorship with University of Split School of Medicine on “What to Use, What to Avoid, and How to Quantify the Results. Membranes” and “Unravelling cholesterol-domain organization and function in the plasma membrane of the eye lens fiber cells using fluorescent methods.”

Continuing Education Lectures in Croatia
Dr. Bert Forster has partnered with Split Medical School in Croatia since 2000. Since then he has traveled there six times to provide lectures and continuing education. Additionally, five Croatians have come to MCW to obtain a PhD in Physiology. Four of these alumni have returned to Croatia and Bosnia and they now are on the faculty teaching medical physiology and conducting research. With a limited number of physiologists in Croatia, this indicates that nearly all of them have gone through the MCW curriculum and now they continue to teach the next generation of Croatia physiologists.

University of Zagreb School of Medicine-MCW Institutional Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Bosnjak is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and the University of Zagreb School of Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. Signed in 2014, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions. Dr. Bosnjak is also the faculty lead for institutional affiliations at the University of Rijeka School of Medicine and the University of Split School of Medicine in Croatia.

University of Rijeka School of Medicine-MCW Institutional Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Bosnjak is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and the University of Rijeka School of Medicine in Rijeka, Croatia. Signed in 2013, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions. Dr. Bosnjak is also the faculty lead for institutional affiliations at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine and the University of Split School of Medicine in Croatia.

University of Split School of Medicine-MCW Institutional Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Bosnjak is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and the University of Split School of Medicine in Split, Croatia. Signed in 2016, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions. Dr. Bosnjak is also the faculty lead for institutional affiliations at the University of Rijeka School of Medicine and the University of Zagreb School of Medicine in Croatia.

Meta-Analysis on LVO
Dr. Marek Cierny is in collaboration with Dr. Radim Licenik from Czech National center for Evidence-Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation, on meta-analysis. This meta-analysis is focusing on patients with large vessel occlusion stroke (LVO) benefit from thrombolysis before thrombectomy.

Collaborative Research
Dr. Iczkowski collaborates on projects with Dr. Ondrej Hes on projects about follicular thyroid-like carcinoma of kidney, chromophobe carcinoma of kidney, solitary fibrous tumor of prostate, and synovial sarcoma of prostate.

Vascular Protein Research in Obesity
In Copenhagen and Aarhus, Dr. Campbell investigates vascular proteins and their role in obesity using biomedical research collaboration, testing protein kinase inhibition on isolated arteries and in vitro models. This includes research collaboration investigating endothelial proteins that influence vascular relaxation in obesity.

Oncology Grant Reviewer
Dr. Gore participated on a team that reviewed regional oncology grants in the United Kingdom.

Malaria control and publications
Dr. Riehle has numerous collaborations which address malaria susceptibility in the Anopheles mosquito vector and contribute to efforts to identify new avenues for malaria control. Some of this work is funded by an NIH R01 grant examining the role of non-coding regulatory elements in control malaria susceptibility in mosquito vectors.

Recent publications with international collaborators on projects impacting global health; Scientific Reports PMID: 35082832, Frontiers in Genetics 12:785934 PMID: 35082832, and Frontiers in Microbiology 12:635772. These publications were published with international collaborators from Institut Pasteur, Paris, Malaria Research and Training Center, Bamako, Mali, and Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP), Ministry of Health, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

University of Lille Collaboration
Dr. Olivier-Van Stichelen co-supervises two students from University of Lille, who will be coming to MCW to increase their knowledge and technical skills (2/3 months). She is currently working in the integration of French undergraduate students to MCW summer school programs, hopefully launching in 2023.

Redox Probes and Redox Modulating Agents
Dr. Zielonka is collaborating with University of Marseilles on the development of redox probes and redox modulating agents with the focus on the development of novel agents for cancer treatment and neuroprotection. He recently received a 5-year International Research Project award (January 2022 – December 2026) supporting the AMU-MCW collaboration on the development of novel probes and redox modulating agents as potential anticancer agents.

Research Collaboration on EPR Spin-trapping
Dr. Kalyanaraman collaborates with Dr. Micael Hardy (Assistant Professor, University of Marseilles) on EPR spin-trapping project. Dr. Hardy (a former postdoc in Dr. Kalyanaraman’s lab) visits MCW for a few months each summer to synthesize spin traps and mitochondria-targeted compounds. Several manuscripts have resulted from these collaborative interactions.

Radiation Oncology History
Dr. Wilson organized a historical exhibit at the Musée Curie in Paris about the work of Juan del Regato at the Institut du Radium.

International Presentation
Dr. Russeth presented in Paris at 2017 The Cambridge Consortium for Bioethics Education conference on the use of reader's theater for pediatric ethics consultation education.

Application of Probes and Biomarkers
Collaboration with Dr. Zielonka and the Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz on the application of probes and biomarkers to detect oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases.

Projects Related to Ethical Concerns
Dr. Jotterand is senior researcher and works on projects related to ethical concerns in the era of big data in psychiatry, access to oral health care among refugees in Germany, animal experimentations, ethics, and "animal law," and professionalism in medicine.

University College of Dublin-MCW Institutional Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Oldham is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Signed in 2013, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions.

M4 Elective in Ireland
Dr. Hargarten leads this M4 elective in partnership with University College of Dublin. It offers an experience in academic medicine clinical care in which students chose the services they wish to rotate on.

Dementia Prevalence in Treviso, Italy
Dr. Piero Anuono collaborates with local Italian investigator. They conducted a study that is looking into the prevalence of dementia in the elderly in the city of Treviso.

Motor Coordination
Dr. Robert Scheidt is doing community-based research that examines motor coordination and learning in real-world tasks.

Designing Technology for Extremity Movements
Dr. Robert Scheidt is participating in ongoing research into the utility and usability of wearable technology designed to encourage upper extremity movements after stroke.

Partnership with University of Genoa
Dr. Robert Scheidt is strengthening the relationship with the Italian partners in Italy. A student exchange agreement was developed to host and send Medical Students aboard at the University of Genoa, Italy.

Modeling Cancer Metabolism
Dr. Ranjan Dash is collaborating with another doctor at the Università di Cagliari to mentor a graduate student on modeling cancer metabolism.

MCW Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Resident and Medical Student Elective Rotation in Italy
Dr. Kosasih is co-director in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) resident and M4 medical student elective rotations in both Pavia and Milan, Italy. The rotation focuses on integrative rehabilitation medicine for acute and chronic pain disorders. The Italian rotation director is Dr. Daniela Jurisic. As part of the ongoing collaboration, there are reciprocal visits and presentations in Italy and MCW such as Grand Rounds, Global Health Pathway, Global Health Week, and annual Integrative Medicine Courses for the PM&R residents.

Active Integrative Medicine Associates-MCW Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Kosasih is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and the Active Integrative Medicine Associates in Milan, Italy. Signed in 2014, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions.

TREDEM: An Epidemiological Study in the City of Treviso
Dr. Antuono collaborates with a local Italian investigator to conduct a study looking at the prevalence of dementia in the very old.

Basic Science and Alzheimer's Disease
Dr. Shi-Jiang Li collaborates with colleagues in Florence, Italy on the basic science about Alzheimer's disease.

University of Jagiellonian Collaboration
Dr. Girotti collaborates with a former junior faculty in this department, Witek Korytowski, who’s now Biophysics Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Poland.

Chemical Probes for Redox Biology
Dr. Zielonka and collaboration with colleagues in the Lodz University of Technology (Lodz) on the development of chemical probes for redox biology, with the focus on potential applications in studies of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Published work
Dr. Subcynski published Factors differentiating the antioxidant activity of macular xanthophylls in the human eye retina., Factors determining barrier properties to oxygen transport across model and cell plasma membranes based on EPR spin-label oximetry, and Role of cholesterol in maintaining the physical properties of the plasma membrane.

Yearly Pediatric Conference & Research on Pediatric Obesity
Dr. Telega is leading a collaboration between MCW and pediatric gastroenterologists in Rzeszow, Poland to coordinate Poland’s yearly pediatrics conference and participates in the design of pediatric obesity research with a focus on the outcomes and implications of pediatric obesity. Faculty lead for the institutional agreements with KOMED, a private research center and with the University of R Rzeszow which lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions.

Basic Science Research Development and Writing
For over 30 years (since 1975), dozens of investigators from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland and the Medical College of Wisconsin have collaborated to produce more than 150 papers on a wide range of topics.

University of Rzeszow-MCW Institutional Affiliation Agreement
Dr. Telega is the faculty lead for the institutional affiliation agreement between MCW and the University of Rzeszow in Rzeszow, Poland. Signed in 2014, this agreement lays the groundwork for mutually beneficial educational opportunities and research partnerships between faculty, residents, and students from both institutions.

Pediatric Gastroenterology Teaching and Research Collaboration
Dr. Telega leads a collaboration between MCW and pediatric gastroenterologists in Rzeszow, Poland to coordinate Poland's most well attended yearly pediatrics conference. He also participates in the design of pediatric obesity research in Poland with a focus on the outcomes and implications of pediatric obesity.

Increase levels of regular HIV testing
Drs. Amirkhanian and Dr. Kelly have undertaken NIH-supported prevention research in Eastern European countries for more than 20 years. CAIR research teams developed, implemented, and evaluated the outcomes of culturally-tailored community-level social network interventions to reduce HIV risk behavior and increase levels of regular HIV testing. Current CAIR research is aimed at the implementation and evaluation of interventions that reach persons with diagnosed HIV infection who are not reliably linked to medical care or are not virally suppressed.

Lomonosov Moscow State University
Dr. Subcynski attended virtual conference in memory of professors L.A. Blumenfeld and S.E. Shnol, the founders of the Biophysics Department of the Physics Faculty of Moscow State University end of November 2021, of Moscow State University. Dr. Subcynski is planning to attend yearly meetings in Moscow due to being an alumnus of the Biophysics Department of the Physics Faculty of Moscow State University end of November 2022. His recent published paper with Dr. Aleksandr Tikhonov was in 2019.

Ion Channel Research in St. Petersburgh
Dr. Staruschenko is studying ion channels in the kidney. He has an on-going long term collaboration with colleagues from St. Petersburg State University and Institute of Cytology of Russian Academy of Sciences.

Community Interventions to Reach and Engage HIV-Positive Persons to Enter, Remain, and Adhere to Me
Dr. Kelly participates in multiple research studies that employ social network methods to reach out-of-care HIV-positive persons in the community and engage them to enter, re-enter, remain, and adhere to HIV medical care. He is involved in studies that examine reasons for treatment non-engagement or medical nonadherence among persons living with HIV infection.

The TIES Program
Dr. Wilson serves as adjunct travel staff to Russia, providing in-country support for families during a two-week ‘heritage trip’ with their children who were born in and adopted from Russia through the TIES Program. Based in Wauwatosa, WI, TIES is an adoption-specific travel experience for families to visit their child's birth country.

International Research Ethics
Dr. Spellecy participates in IRB reviews for international research projects that have occurred in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Scientific Advisor
Dr. Cowley serves as a Scientific Advisor to the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh.

Science Studies
Dr. Hillard investigates basic science studies of the endocannabinoid system in brain. She collaborates with Dr. Julian Romero in projects investigating the role of the CB2 receptor in neurodegenerative diseases.

Doctor as a Humanist (DASH)
Dr. Jotterand is senior researcher and works on projects related to ethical concerns in the era of big data in psychiatry, animal experimentations, ethics, and "animal law," and professionalism in medicine. He is also part of the scientific committee of DASH (Doctor as a Humanist) for an international conference on Medicine and Art (Barcelona, 2023).

Emergency Preparedness
Dr. Collela hosts master’s students completing their thesis work in emergency preparedness.

Basic Science of Pre-Eclampsia
Dr. Jeannette Vasquez Vivar collaborates on a two year study investigating Pre-eclampsia with researchers in Mucia, Spain.

Collaboration with AO Foundation Davos
Dr. Aditya Vedantam is collaborating with the AO Foundation Davos to develop guidelines and studies for spinal cord injury and generative cervical myelopathy.

Assessing Methylation Scoring
Dr. Nyitray collaborating with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) for their assessment of the methylation level of anal canal exfoliated cell specimens collected from Milwaukeeans. The collaboration consists of co-authorship of articles assessing methylation scoring as a potential biomarker for high grade dysplasia and cancer at the anal canal or perianal region.

Mitochondrial Research
Dr. Hill and his laboratory team are working with the The Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at the Medical School of Newcastle University in the UK to determine the molecular basis of mitochondrial disease in patients with mutations in the DNM1L gene.

Neurobiology of Language Research
Dr. Andrew Anderson is the co-author for a research article that is currently in submission with Queen Mary University of London. His collaborative basic science research is on the neurobiology of language.

Rehabilitation for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
Dr. Aditya Vedantam is collaborating with the research objectives and common data for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM) project to develop perioperative guidelines for rehabilitation in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

International NIH PPG
Dr. Montgomery studies molecular and clinical biology of Von Willebrand Disease and Bleeding (VWD) in contrast to studies performed in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Quality of Life and Pediatric Bowel Disorders
Dr. Sood is involved in a collaborative relationship with Manchester Children’s Hospital to evaluate health-related quality of life in children with constipation.