Quie & Peterson Global Health Lecture

Decolonizing Global Health: Tackling Epistemic Injustice and Unfair Knowledge Practices

Unfair knowledge practices in global health reinforce inequities and violate the dignity of practitioners everywhere. These practices favor the perspectives of privileged, high-income country researchers and institutions, while simultaneously failing to remedy the problems they purport to solve.

Our eighth annual Quie and Peterson Lecture focused on the issue of epistemic injustice in global health. Our invited speaker, Dr. Seye Abimbola, shared how academicians can identify their own biases, what holds those biases in place, and create practices better tailored to serve the communities we work with. This event took place October 8, 2024.

 

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Seye Abimbola Headshot

Seye Abimbola

Dr. Seye Abimbola is a health systems researcher from Nigeria. He is currently based at the University of Sydney in Australia, where he is an associate professor and principal research fellow. His teaching and research focus on knowledge practices in global health, health system governance, and the adoption and scale up of health system innovations. Dr. Abimbola was awarded the Prince Claus Chair at Utrecht University in the Netherlands for his work on justice in global health research (2020-2022). He also received an Australian Research Council Discovery Award to study dignity-based knowledge practices in global health (2023-2025). Dr. Abimbola was the inaugural editor in chief of BMJ Global Health (2015-2024), and a Radulovacki Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University in the United States of America (2023-2024). His book, a collected volume of old and new essays titled "The Foreign Gaze: Essays on Global Health" will be published by Editions IRD later in 2024.


 

 

Our annual Quie & Peterson Global Health Lecture honors the work of Dr. Paul G. Quie and Dr. Phillip K. Peterson, striving to continue their legacy of global health leadership and to inspire the next generation of global health leaders.

Launched in 2017, our Quie & Peterson Global Health Lecture features renowned global health experts that speak to our world's health challenges. 

Learn more and watch the recordings of our past lectures from 2017–2023. 

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7th Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2023)

Compassion in Global Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Primary Health Care 

What role does compassion play in global health? And how can those involved in primary health care prioritize people’s humanity in order to improve health outcomes?

While excellent clinical care is necessary to ensure patient wellbeing, compassion in health care settings can improve patient-provider relationships and, ultimately, result in more optimal care. What are the key ingredients required to make this a reality both at the point of care and at the system level?

Our seventh annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture focused on the importance of compassion in global health and how primary health care can incorporate a human-first mentality that has the potential to generate positive change both locally and across the globe. Watch the recording here

Speakers

Shams Syed: Dr. Shams Syed is Head, Policy and Partnerships for the WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care at WHO Headquarters, where he oversees a body of work to promote PHC renewal through partnership with stakeholders at global, regional and country levels. Until Oct 2022, Dr. Syed was Unit Head, Quality of Care, where he oversaw a body of WHO work on quality of care over a 7-year period. In the last 5 years, he has led innovative exploration of the role of compassion in quality of care and global health. His 15-year WHO career has provided an opportunity to work directly with over 30 countries. Dr. Syed is a primary care physician specialized in public health and preventive medicine.

David Addiss: David Addiss, MD, MPH, is Director of the Focus Area for Compassion and Ethics (FACE) at the Task Force for Global Health in Atlanta, Georgia.  After working as a general medical practitioner in migrant health, David spent 20 years as a medical epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he focused on the control and prevention of neglected tropical diseases. He spent four years as a senior program officer at the Fetzer Institute in Michigan before joining the Task Force, where he directed the Children Without Worms (CWW) program and was senior advisor to the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy. He established FACE in 2018.  

6th Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2022)

Planetary Health: Global Health's Next Frontier? 

The health of humans and our communities is inexorably tied to the health of our planet. As has been made evident by health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global climate change, our health and wellbeing is affected by the actions we take on our physical environment.

Our 6th annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture featured a discussion of planetary health. Our invited speaker, Dr. Renzo Guinto, shared about this new scientific field and social movement and how global health practitioners can integrate a planetary health lens into their healing mission. This event took place November 15, 2022. Watch the event recording

Graphic with teal background and the text "Planetary Health: Global Health’s Next Frontier?" and a photo of Dr Renzo Guinto


Speaker

Renzo R. Guinto, MD, DrPH

Renzo Guinto, MD, DrPH, is the Chief Planetary Health Scientist and Co-Founder of the newly established Sunway Centre for Planetary Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Concurrently, he is the Associate Professor of the Practice of Global Public Health and Inaugural Director of the Planetary and Global Health Program of the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine in the Philippines. He is also a member of the National Panel of Technical Experts of the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines, and convener of Planetary Health Philippines – a community of Filipino scholars and practitioners for advancing the new discipline of planetary health.

Renzo obtained his Doctor of Public Health from Harvard University and Doctor of Medicine from the University of the Philippines Manila, and received further training from Oxford, Copenhagen, Western Cape, and East-West Center (Hawaii). He also received prestigious fellowships from Health Systems Global (Emerging Voice in Global Health); World Heart Federation (Emerging Leader); National University of Singapore (Raffles Fellow); and Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp. He has traveled to and lectured in nearly 60 countries and 100 universities across the world; published more than 150 reports and articles in scientific journals, books, and popular media; and directed and produced short films that communicate the message of planetary healing to the world. In 2020, Renzo was included by Tatler Magazine in its Gen.T List of 400 leaders of tomorrow who are shaping Asia’s future.

An Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader and Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, Renzo has been a member of several international groups including: Lancet–Chatham House Commission on Improving Population Health post COVID-19 (University of Cambridge); Lancet One Health Commission (University of Oslo); Advisory Council of Global Health 50/50 (University College London); Advisory Board of Climate Cares (Imperial College London); Global Advisory Council of Primary Care International; Advisory Circle of Child Family Health International; Climate Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems Thematic Working Group of Health Systems Global; Board of Trustees of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians; and various committees in the Philippine Medical Association. Renzo has served as consultant for various organizations including: World Health Organization; WHO Foundation; World Bank; USAID; International Organization for Migration; Health Care Without Harm; Chilean Ministry of Health; and Philippine Departments of Health (DOH) and Tourism (DOT). He also sits on the editorial boards of The Lancet Planetary Health; PLOS Global Public Health; Journal of Climate Change and Health; and Journal of Migration and Health. 

5th Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2021)

While Our Attention Was on COVID: Spillover Effects from a Pandemic

Since early 2020, the global community has shifted attention squarely onto combating and mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But while our attention was on COVID, the world has not stood still.

In our fifth annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture, our featured speakers  explored the challenges of looking at other health issues, including infectious diseases and maternal and child health, while grappling with the overwhelming demand of addressing COVID-19 in Bangladesh and Peru. The event took place on Monday, November 15, 2021. Watch the event recording 

Speakers

Senjuti Saha
Senjuti Saha, PhD, is a microbiologist in Bangladesh. She is a Scientist and Director at the Child Health Research Foundation, where she works at the intersection of microbiology and public health. After completing her PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto in Canada, where she focused on developing novel alternatives to antimicrobials, she moved to Bangladesh to work in the front lines of public health. 

Magaly Blas
Magaly Blas, MD, MPH, PhD is the director of Mamás del Río (Mothers of the River), a social innovation program that aims to improve maternal and newborn health in rural and remote areas of the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon region through the training of community health workers empowered with technology. 

4th Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2020)

Charting the Path to Health Equity: A 20/20 Review of the Political Determinants of Health

In our collective effort to achieve health equity, both in the US and around the globe, contributing factors beyond access to healthcare providers can often have a larger influence on the health of a community.

In our fourth annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture, our featured speakers highlighted the ways in which political determinants of health have a far greater impact on our ability to achieve health equity than we may realize, and how the long lasting impact of decisions made by our political leaders can influence the health of generations to come. Watch the event recording

Teal background with white grid, with the title of the event "Charting the Path to Health Equity: A 20/20 Review of the Political Determinants of Health." Photos of each of the speakers are under the title

Speakers

Ilona Kickbush
Professor Ilona Kickbusch, PhD, is a member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) established by the WHO and the World Bank. She is founding director and chair of the advisory group of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Geneva. Kickbusch acts as Council Chair to the World Health Summit in Berlin. She has been involved in German G7 and G20 activities relating to global health and chaired the international advisory board for the development of the German global health strategy.

Daniel Dawes
Daniel E. Dawes, J.D., a widely respected author, scholar, educator, and leader in the health equity, health reform, and mental health movements, is executive director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia and a professor of health law, policy and management. He is also the co-founder of the Health Equity Leadership and Exchange Network (HELEN), which is a nationwide network of over 2000 governmental and non-governmental leaders and scholars focused on bolstering leadership and the exchange of research, information, and solutions to advance evidence-based health equity-focused policies and programs.

Laura Bloomberg
Dr. Laura Bloomberg was professor and dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs from 2017–2021. In this role Bloomberg led the global expansion of the School, established a national pathway program for college students underrepresented in public affairs programs, launched an Internationally-focused Master of Human Rights degree, among other achievements. She is now the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cleveland State University.

3rd Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2019)

The future is coming!  Are we prepared?  Six mega-trends and their implications for global health in the 21st century

Featuring Dr. Dennis Carroll | November 18, 2019 | Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Dennis Carroll

About Dr. Dennis Carroll

Dr. Dennis Carroll has over 30 years of leadership experience in global health and development.  Until recently he served as the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Threats Division.  In this position Dr. Carroll was responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the Agency's programs addressing new and emerging disease threats.   He provided overall strategic leadership for the Agency’s response to the West Africa Ebola epidemic.

Dr. Carroll was initially detailed to USAID from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a senior public health advisor in 1991.  In 1995 he was named the Agency's Senior Infectious Diseases advisor, responsible for overseeing the Agency's programs in malaria, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, disease surveillance, as well as neglected and emerging infectious diseases.  In this capacity Dr. Carroll was directly involved in the development and introduction of a range of new technologies for disease prevention and control, including: community-based delivery of treatment of onchocerciasis, rapid diagnostics for malaria, new treatment therapies for drug resistant malaria, intermittent therapy for pregnant women and “long-lasting” insecticide treated bednets for prevention of malaria.  He was responsible for the initial design and development of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).  Dr. Carroll officially left CDC and joined USAID in 2005 when he assumed responsibility for leading the USAID response to the spread of avian influenza.  Between 2009 - 2019 he oversaw the Agency’s Emerging Threats program spanning more than 30 countries across Africa and Asia.

Dr Carroll has a doctorate in biomedical research with a special focus in tropical infectious diseases from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  He was a Research Scientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where he studied the molecular mechanics of viral infection.

Read more about the 3rd Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture

2nd Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2018)

Imagining Global Health with Justice

Featuring Lawrence O. Gostin, University Professor, Georgetown University | Monday, November 5, 2018 | McNamara Alumni Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA

The scope and complexity of global health can be overwhelming, making it difficult to form an inspiring and unified vision for the future. If the aspiration of global health with justice is the right goal, then answering three simple questions may pierce the haze. First, what would global health look like? Second, what would global health with justice look like? Third, what would it take to achieve global health with justice? Dr. Gostin explores these three questions and begins to imagine a more ideal future for world health, with bold proposals on how to get there. 

Read the full abstract

 

2nd Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture Video

View the recording

 

2nd Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture Photos

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View the lecture photo gallery

 

1st Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2017)

Confronting the Global Climate Crisis: Health Opportunity of the Century?

Featuring Dr. Jonathan Patz, Director, Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison | October 30, 2017 | Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Keynote speaker Dr. Jonathan Patz, MD, M.P.H., is director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For 15 years, Dr. Patz served as a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC), the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. He also co-chaired the health expert panel of the U.S. National Assessment on Climate Change, a report mandated by the U.S. Congress.

Opening Presentation Video

Watch the short ceremony recognizing Drs. Paul Quie and Phillip Peterson for their contribution to global health education and research and the launching of the Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture.

Watch the recording.

1st Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture (2017)

Watch the keynote speaker Jonathan Patz, Director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, delivered the presentation “Confronting the Global Climate Crisis: Health Opportunity of the Century?”.

Watch the recording.

1st Annual Quie and Peterson Global Health Lecture Photos

4 men posing for a photo

View the lecture photo gallery

 

 

 

Center for Global Health & Social Responsibility Founders

Drs. Paul Quie and Phillip Peterson served on the original steering committee that created the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, and Dr. Peterson served as our first Director.

They also served as founding co-directors of the International Medical Educational and Research program in the Medical School (now GMER) and have an established legacy in the globalization of health issues. As infectious disease research scientists, they have had an impact through their trainees well beyond the borders of the United States.

Drs. Quie and Pederson hold plaques

 

 

About Drs. Quie and Peterson

Dr. Paul Quie, MD

Dr. Quie began his tenure at the University of Minnesota as a resident in 1954 and is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. During his long career, he was a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Pediatrics, served as Chief of Staff at the University Hospitals and Clinics, and was the first director of the University’s Biomedical Ethics Center. His research centered on investigation of host defenses against infectious diseases with emphasis on the phagocytic system, and he has pioneered studies on neutrophil function.

Dr. Phil Peterson, MD

Dr. Peterson is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he has been a faculty member for over four decades. In addition to teaching, he has served as the director of the Infectious Diseases and International Medicine Division at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and Hennepin County Medical Center. His research has focused on how our immune system defends us against infectious agents, but also gives rise to diseases associated with infections. Currently, he serves as a member of the Coordinating Committee of Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, a Minnesota-based interprofessional organization that addresses the profound impacts of climate change on human health and the health of our planet.

 


Support the Quie & Peterson Global Health Lecture

To support this lecture and the continued legacy of Drs. Quie and Peterson, consider giving to the Paul Quie and Phil Peterson Global Health Fund.

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Dr. Paul Quie ask a question into a microphone while sitting next to Dr. Phil Peterson