Ikenna received his MBBS degree from the University of Nigeria in 1998. Following some years of clinical practice in public and private hospitals with a keen interest in public health, Dr. Umechukwu joined the EPI unit of World Health Organization (WHO) in Nigeria. While with WHO; he worked in various capacities, the most recent being National Surveillance Officer. Ikenna was also involved in setting‐up an NGO that provided health knowledge, care and support for the disadvantaged populations of Adamawa State of Nigeria, where he volunteered in the management capacity. His interest is in health management and policy research. Ikenna plans to return to Africa where wants to support healthcare strengthening through provision of quality leadership.

The five proposals, selected by a faculty review committee through a competitive process, include:

- The link between periodontal disease and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Thailand (Ananda P. Dasanayake, College of Dentistry);
- Educational disruption as a risk factor for infectious disease among young refugees from Zimbabwe (Sally Guttmacher, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development);
- The effect of antiretroviral therapy on malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa (Photini Sinnis, School of Medicine);
- Establishing a comprehensive health system performance monitoring system in Ghana (Karen A. Grepin, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service);
- Effectiveness of a train-the-trainer program for increasing poisoning prevention awareness in Ghana (Lewis Goldfrank, School of Medicine).

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The article, "The Health Effects of Decentralizing Primary Care in Brazil", proposes that a renewed focus on primary health care could lead to improved health outcomes in developing countries. Moving more control to local authorities, or decentralization, is one approach to expanding primary care’s reach. While proponents argue that it increases responsiveness to local needs and helps local resources reach those in need, critics counter that it might increase fragmentation and disparities and provide opportunities for local economic and political gains that do not improve population health. Dr. Macinko and his co-author explore questions surrounding decentralization using the example of infant mortality in Brazil, and their study finds positive effects on health outcomes in that context.

The article is available online here.

The major reason for the black-white mortality gap - representing about 30 percent of the gap for men and 42 percent for women - is due to conditions that have effective treatments, the study found. Disparities were most pronounced for conditions or diseases for which deaths can be prevented, such as diabetes, stroke, infectious and respiratory diseases, preventable cancers, and circulatory diseases like hypertension.

Dr. Macinko co-authored the report with Irma T. Elo, Ph.D. The report can be accessed online here.

Senior VP Berne, a scholar of public education policy and financing, furnished expert analysis and testimony in the landmark school finance case, CFE v. the State of New York. He has authored The Relationships Between Financial Reporting and the Measurement of Financial Condition and co-authored The Measurement of Equity in School Finance, Hard Lessons: Public Schools and Privatization, and The Financial Analysis of Governments. As senior vice president for health, Berne is responsible for working with deans and other university leaders on long-term academic, financial, and operational strategies for the wide range of health activities at NYU.

Dr. Carvalho is a physician from Brazil, and the work he presented in his Reynolds application involves working with impoverished rural communities there to help them write and produce their own heath education films.

For more information on the Reynolds Fellowship at NYU, please visit their website.

In addition, Professor Macinko is co-author of two recent publications in the journal: "The impact of primary healthcare on population health in low- and middle-income countries" assesses 36 peer-reviewed studies of the impact of primary healthcare on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. "Primary care and avoidable hospitalizations: Evidence from Brazil" provides evidence of the effectiveness of family-based, community-oriented primary healthcare programs on the reduction of ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations in Brazil.

The issue is available now at newsstands around NYU and will be posted online at NYU Today's website.

Streaming video of the event can be viewed by clicking here.