IMMpress Volume 11 Issue 3, 2024 – Cover

In the intricate tapestry of our world, every individual, community, and nation is interwoven into a web of cause and effect where actions and events in one corner of the globe resonate across borders. This interconnectedness is critically highlighted in the global spread of infectious diseases. An outbreak in one part of the world can...

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The numbers behind the science: how biomedical research varies across the globe (Infographic)

The importance of global collaboration is the highlight of this issue, and for good reason. Research is driven by collaboration. Some of the world’s most pressing health issues are not limited to one geographical location, and so a global understanding of these issues is essential. One of the greatest public health successes ever achieved was...

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Collaborative Crossroads – Examining the successes and setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many profound, long-lasting effects on our personal and professional lives. It has influenced our views on how we live, where we work, and importantly, the ways which we interact with people and the world around us. Although efforts to curb the spread of the virus limited our physical associations, the...

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Smallpox Eradication: a Show of Worldwide Collaborative Brilliance

International scientific collaboration makes use of the collective experiences, knowledge, and intellect of diverse nations. Through shared knowledge and combined efforts, it pioneers breakthroughs unattainable within the confines of solitary endeavors, propelling innovation to unprecedented heights. One clear instance exemplifying the power of international collaboration is demonstrated in the concerted effort of smallpox eradication. Smallpox...

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Who’s WHO? World Health Organization – its inception, successes, and pitfalls

Facing the destructive aftermath of World War II, nations around the globe convened to form the United Nation in 1945. At one of its first conferences, representatives from Brazil and China proposed the concept of a global health organization, which would facilitate collaboration between countries to fight the spread of diseases. Three years of additional...

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The benefits and challenges of international collaboration

The concept of international collaboration invokes the greatest ideals of science: working together on global issues, aligning the agendas of diverse groups, and developing a more robust understanding of the world. While many research questions could benefit from the breadth of international collaboration, we must consider what constitutes a successful collaboration. What challenges do these...

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Moving from Brain Drain to Brain Circulation

Brain drain is a term coined in the 1950s to describe the emigration of highly skilled personnel, particularly physicians and scientists, from Great Britain to the United States and Canada (1). During this time, professionals departed their home country in pursuit of better salaries, increased research funding, and more favorable job opportunities (1). While the...

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Crossing Continents: Unveiling Insights from Uganda in Collaborative Research with North American Institutes

James Nnamutete, Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) and Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences (BMLS)Laboratory Coordinator for Rakai Health Sciences Program James Nnamutete is a study coordinator at the Rakai Health Sciences program (RHSP) situated in Kalisizo, Uganda. His 17 years of expertise consists of his work with various clinical studies, including those related...

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Global Health: On a Mission to Health for All

The COVID-19 pandemic is not our first brush with health crisis that has sounded a call for global action. In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was established in response to the ravages of polio outbreaks. Since its launch, there has been more than a 99% decrease in the incidence for this potentially debilitating disease....

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Book Review – “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants”, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, author Robin Wall Kimmerer, a decorated environmental biology professor and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation – a federally recognized tribe of the Potawatomi people in Oklahoma – weaves together her Indigenous roots and Western scientific expertise. Describing the relationship between people and the land as “the ultimate reciprocity,...

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