School Notes: School of Public Health
July/August 2014

Tsetse genome decoded

An international team of researchers led by the Yale School of Public Health has successfully sequenced the genetic code of the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans), opening the door to scientific breakthroughs that could reduce or end the scourge of African sleeping sickness in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 140 scientists from numerous countries were involved in the ten-year effort to map the genome of the fly, which is the sole insect vector of a disease that threatens the health of millions of people and devastates livestock herds. The genetic blueprint will provide researchers with the codes for the proteins that make up the tsetse fly, essentially a “parts list” of what the organism is made from. The study was published in Science. 

The art of public health

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the latest Art of Public Health exhibition might have the potential to improve a thousand lives. A collection of more than 20 original health-themed posters on the dangers of concussions, child abuse, early signs of autism, skin cancer, and other issues was publicly displayed after students from the Yale School of Public Health merged their scientific skills with the creative talents of their peers at the Yale School of Art to create the posters. The project was directed by Catherine Yeckel, associate research scientist/lecturer at YSPH, and Henk van Assen, a senior critic at the art school. 

Health innovators

Four teams of Yale students competed in April for a $25,000 prize and the chance to turn an idea for better health into reality. Khushi Baby won the inaugural Thorne Prize sponsored by InnovateHealth Yale, a new program at YSPH. Khushi (which means “happy” in Hindi) Baby will use the funds to further develop a bracelet embedded with a silicone chip that can be worn by infants and records their vaccination history. A mobile phone app will write and read the vaccination records on the bracelet and send them to a database. The team wants to introduce the innovation in India and expand from there. “Our goal is to have happy and healthy babies around the world,” team members told the judges during their 30-minute presentation. “We don’t want to be stuck in the classroom.”