Philly professors, students talk shop on malaria

Nothing But Nets’ second stop of the Philadelphia City Tour last week was at the University of Pennsylvania to host a malaria workshop.  Dr. Akhil Vaidya, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Drexel University College of Medicine; and Dr. David Roos, Professor of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, joined us as expert speakers for the event.  Markley Foreman and Rodrigo Barcenas, two University of Pennsylvania seniors and Nothing But Nets supporters, also participated on the panel.

Deputy Director Adrianna Logalbo opened the workshop with an introduction of the speakers and by noting the importance of malaria prevention.  Dr. Vaidya then took the floor with a detailed presentation about the global malaria burden and disease agents.  Next, Dr. Roos discussed integrated malaria control strategies, including drugs, vaccines, insecticides, bed nets and other measures.  

Former Nothing But Nets intern and UPenn student Markley Foreman described her experience with the campaign, noting that she got to see firsthand how the campaign uniquely provides a way for Americans to make a tangible difference.  Rodrigo then closed the workshop and spoke about his involvement with the campaign as a JP Morgan intern.  During his internship last summer, Rodrigo worked to get Nothing But Nets to be a featured charity in JP Morgan’s Give-It-Away initiative!  Check out JP Morgan’s Give-It-Away contest and vote for Nothing But Nets.  If we receive the most votes, JP Morgan will donate up to $60,000 to the campaign!

Thank you to the University of Pennsylvania and the workshop participants for making the Philadelphia City Tour even more of a success!