Team of UB scientists, business leaders to grow health initiatives and build research capacity in Jamaica, several African nations

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences (CIGBS) has established a new team of researchers and business leaders to advance the health initiatives of low- and middle-income countries through academic research and capacity-building programs.

The group, the Sustainable Development Leadership Committee, will work in tandem with established CIGBS research capacity-building programs and international government officials to stimulate new collaborations and mentorship opportunities for Masters of Business Administration candidates with an interest in health care.

Capacity-building programs that will provide the framework for the Sustainable Development Leadership Committee are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fogarty International Center. CIGBS Director Gene D. Morse, PharmD, serves as principal investigator on the grants.

The committee will be chaired by Paul Tesluk, PhD, dean and professor of the UB School of Management.

“Dean Tesluk has an outstanding academic record with a keen interest in sustainable development through innovation and sound business management principles,” says Morse, also a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Candidates will work with faculty researchers and community business leaders from UB, Zimbabwe and Jamaica in fields that range from social work to finance to identify and promote sustainable models of global health, including infectious and non-communicable diseases research.

Extension programs are also being developed in Zimbabwe and Jamaica that will lead to the integration of developing health care systems with innovative biomedical research centers.

Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa will also participate in these initiatives through the UB Global Partners Studio Institute, a suite of programs and resources that catalyze new opportunities for innovation, student learning and community impact between UB and international partners.

The CIGBS programs support the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a collection of 17 goals that aim to address global issues related to poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, clean energy, urbanization, climate action and social justice.

Additional UB faculty members participating on the Sustainable Development Leadership Committee include:

• Robin DiFrancesco, UB Translational Pharmacology Research Core scientific manager and research assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• Trevor Poag, EdD, director of global learning opportunities for the UB Office of International Education.
• Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, PhD, clinical assistant professor in the School of Management.
• Chiedza C. Maponga, PharmD, visiting associate professor in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the University of Zimbabwe Center of Excellence in Pharmaceutical Innovation.

Other members of the committee represent businesses and universities that include the Buffalo Jamaica Innovation Enterprise, University of the West Indies, University of Zimbabwe, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Frontier Science Foundation, You First Services, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Parion Sciences, Digicel, ACG Analytics, Accessium Group and the Peter Sheehan Diabetes Care Foundation.