Job Opening: Program Director at Miracle Feet

From our partners at NCIIA, a job opening that offers a chance to make an impact in global health.

miraclefeet, based in Chapel Hill, NC, started working two years ago to treat children born with clubfoot in
developing countries. miraclefeet is looking to hire a Director of Programs to add to the existing team of four
in Chapel Hill.

About Miracle Feet

miraclefeet’s model is to provide funding and support to empower local clubfoot champions to establish clubfoot clinics offering high quality free treatment to any child with clubfoot. Funding covers the cost of materials and supplies, clinic staff salaries, educational materials, and braces for four years. Ponseti Method training is usually provided through Ponseti International Association (PIA), miraclefeet’s training partner. The miraclefeet on-line patient database allows partner clinics to enter patient records including before- and after-treatment photos, enabling miraclefeet to monitor patient volume and quality of care. Staff from miraclefeet visits each clinic at least every six months to audit operations, identify areas for improvement, plan next steps with its partner doctors and identify funding needs.

About the position

The role of the Director of Programs is to develop and support the expansion and implementation of miraclefeet programs to treat children with clubfoot in developing countries. Accordingly, miraclefeet is seeking someone who is energetic, entrepreneurial and passionate about the work, and above-all, who prides him/herself on implementing on-the-ground initiatives. miraclefeet’s programs are primarily created by partnering with local doctors and hospitals to create, support and expand clubfoot clinics within public and charitable/foundation hospitals. miraclefeet also partners with local and international NGOs to implement and manage clinics in some locations. The long-term goal is for these clinics to become integrated into the local public health system and thus provide a sustainable, long-term solution to clubfoot in that country. All programs require coordination across a number of participating organizations, creativity and detailed attention to outcomes.

How to Apply
Salary is commensurate with experience. miraclefeet, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks a
diverse pool of candidates for this position.
This search is being conducted by Schall & Russo Planning Works, LLC. Interested candidates should email a
thoughtful cover letter and resume noting “miraclefeet Director of Programs” in the subject line, in
confidence, to Steven Schall at sschall@schallrusso.com. Tel: 917-207-7191.

Microfluidics 2.0 Coming up in the Fall hosted by BU’s Klapperich Lab

The Klapperich Lab at Boston University is hosting the Second Annual Microfluidics 2.0 Conference. It’s going to be a great event and we look forward to seeing you there!

We’ll be liveblogging and tweeting the event as well as participating on some hands-on workshops.

Lecture: Neglected Diseases of the Bottom Billion

Lecture Series: Neglected Diseases of the Bottom Billion
Wednesday, May 16, 7-9pm at Pfizer Auditorium Hall at Harvard University (Mallinckrodt Building, 12 Oxford St, Cambridge)

The next lecture in Harvard’s Science in the News series will feature a group of graduate students (multiple perspectives: MD/MPH, PhD in Anthropology, MD/ScD in Global and Population Health, and MD/PhD in Immunology), discussing the “Neglected Diseases of the Bottom Billion”! Join us for some free snacks, conversation, and lecture on this very interesting topic.

Synopsis:

The “big three” infectious diseases (HIV, tuberculosis and malaria), inflict massive health and welfare burdens and get a whole lot of attention from nonprofits and the news media. But for the “bottom billion” people of our planet who live on under $1.25 per day, a handful of neglected diseases take an additional toll seldom recognized in the developed world. While neglected diseases claim at least half a million lives each year, they harm hundreds of millions more by disabling adults and stunting the mental and physical development of children, locking families and communities into a vicious cycle of poverty with suffering, stigma, and lost opportunity. Sadly, many neglected diseases are curable or can be effectively prevented with the right public health measures. We’ll discuss the identity of these neglected diseases, why we should care about them, what sort of efforts are underway to control them. We’ll close with a discussion of how science and technology might help the bottom billion gain the upper hand over neglected diseases.

Dr. Roger I. Glass, Director of Fogarty International Center @ MIT this Thursday

Postdoc in Paper Diagnostics at the Gehrke Lab available

Paper Diagnostics Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT

Diagnostics, lateral flow immunochromatography; microfluidics; bioengineering; global health

We seek a creative and energetic postdoctoral to join an inter-disciplinary MIT group that is developing a rapid diagnostic to detect pathogens. Individuals with Ph.D. bioengineering background and experience in lateral flow immunochromatography are encouraged to apply. Applicants should have a basic understanding of immunology and an interest in global health. Strong communication skills, independence, motivation, and the ability to work productively as part of an interdisciplinary team are highly desirable skills. Applicants will apply for an FDA Commissioner’s Fellowship, which includes training in regulatory science and a very competitive stipend.  Applicants for the FDA fellowship must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents (green card).  Send inquiries to lgehrke@mit.edu.

CNN profiles IIH’s Little Devices group

A few weeks ago, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta featured the Little Devices group, part of the IIH network. Watch the nebulizers, MEDIKits, and toys in action!

More at The Next List

Attention students and developers: Help one of our labs develop Android and OpenCV apps

Join an award winning lab group making mobile image recognition apps for biodefense, environmental & global health. The Little Devices group, a member of IIH’s network, seeks committed team members to develop an image recognition platform for disease. 

 Send inquiries and examples of work to akyoung@mit.edu

Priority application deadline: April 28, 2012

On Make Blog: The Secret Life of Cautery Pens

Recently featured on the Make Blog, IIH’s Little Device’s group contributes some insight into the inner working of disposable cautery pens. 

more at Little Devices 

Anna Young, Solarclave co-inventor, on the Rural Surgery

Anna Young, our economist-turned-medical device designer at IIH’s Little Devices lab is featured the latest “Rural Surgery”, the official publication fo the Association of Rural Surgeons of India. This is perfect exposure for the fabulous work she’s doing towards an audience that operates where her devices are most needed.

To learn more about the IIH’s Solar Autoclave, visit the Little Devices lab’s new website.

How we tackle adherence

Behavioral Diagnostics are a combination of standard point-of-care diagnostics coupled with behavioral economic algorithms that use incentives, pattern recognition, and remote monitoring to encourage healthy behavior.

The basic idea of behavioral diagnostics is that it relies on a combination of chemical diagnostic technology, wireless communication technology, and economic incentives to encourage patients to stay on their tuberculosis medication.Patients are given sets of test strips that they use every day to prove that they have taken their medication.  If proper ingestion is present in their system, a secret numeric code appears on an MBDx diagnostic that keeps the code encrypted otherwise. Unlike DOTS where a healthcare worker intervenes to monitor, the patient sends his or her proof code via an SMS to a central processing databases that tracks the patient’s compliance rates.  For each week that the patient succeeds in taking his or her medication, they receive a reward in the form of cell phone minutes (immediately transferred electronically to their cell phones).  These short term incentives keep patients engaged in their long-term treatment using this combination of technologies that result in positive behavior modification—and healthier patients.

For more information on purchasing these tests for your next clinical trial contact helloiih@mit.edu