Human milk banks (HMBs) are an essential clinical service, providing safe, screened donor human milk (DHM) to clinically vulnerable infants, which can enable mothers to establish their own milk supply. While HMB processes share similarities with other medical products of human origin (e.g., blood, platelets), HMBs remain marginalised services with limited resilience to external or internal pressures. As demand for DHM increases, understanding how to mitigate these vulnerabilities is essential. In November 2022, a workshop organised by the Human Milk Foundation brought together UK milk bank leaders, academics, and planners. The workshop aimed to understand existing pressures faced by UK HMBs and create a network to support strategic, evidence-based responses. Emergent themes highlighted that HMBs are stretched, facilitated largely by goodwill. Most services are reliant on limited workforces with limitations in service continuity, training, and succession planning. COVID-19 exacerbated pressures, but led to HMBs cooperating more. Proposed responses included investment in staffing, training and IT resources, greater public awareness and inter-HMB cooperation, and a national HMB Risk Register. Service continuity needs to be urgently addressed through external multiagency engagement, operational support, and research prioritization (including qualitative, technological and implementation science), defining optimal service design and financial resourcing to meet nationally agreed needs. Without intervention, the UK milk bank network may be unable to respond to future significant pressures, including specialist infant feed or infant formula shortages. With appropriate investment, a comprehensive National Service can be created to provide equitable services underpinned by robust research and innovation.
Globally, mental health disorders are on the rise in response to both natural and man-made crises. Especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Ethiopia, this is further stretching the already limited mental health facilities, necessitating an innovative solution to the challenges it presents. With the primary goal of examining methods to enhance the quality and accessibility of mental health care in Ethiopia, the Center for International Health at the University hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (CIHLMU), the International Network for Cooperation in Mental Health (i.nez), and Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) collaborated to organize this 2024 conference, which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference focused on three key themes: (Theme I) rehabilitation and recovery, (Theme II) a One Health approach to conflict response, and (Theme III) innovative strategies for mental health recovery. The event featured a number of presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities bringing together important stakeholders, including representatives from ministries, professional associations, government and non-government service providers, service users, caregivers of individuals with mental health conditions and journalists. A central takeaway from the conference was the urgent need for multi-sectoral collaboration to enhance mental health services and ensure more accessible, high-quality care across Ethiopia.
Scientists invest years and decades in research discoveries that may lead to important life-saving technologies that benefit humanity. However, many of these researchers may not be familiar with determining whether their ideas can be turned into a viable product and made sellable. Educational programs such as the National Science Foundation I-Corps Program and I-RED from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH support this shift toward faculty gaining greater entrepreneurship knowledge. These programs provide additional preparation for faculty, particularly in specialized business information and entrepreneurial skills. Despite the importance of commercialization training, few post-doctoral and faculty members in life sciences receive formal education in intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and research commercialization. Accordingly, this article aims to provide a guide to help start or facilitate the entrepreneurial journey to support the commercialization of their creative outputs. The article provides a timeline of events from idea discovery to technology commercialization, translating academic skills into entrepreneurial careers, understanding the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and discussing the pros and cons of entrepreneurship for scientists. The article emphasizes the need for academic researchers to gain knowledge in research commercialization and entrepreneurship to impact and benefit humanity beyond the laboratory.
Abstract Africa bears a disproportionate burden of infectious disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance, compounded by weaknesses in public health laboratory systems. In line with its mandate to safeguard public health, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) supports its Member States in strengthening public health laboratory capacity. However, gaps in laboratory leadership continue to threaten the resilience and sustainability of these systems. To address this need, Africa CDC convened a Laboratory Leadership Workshop under the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) – DETECT Project from 27–29 August 2025 in Mombasa, Kenya. The meeting brought together 24 heads of public health and reference laboratories and senior technical experts from 15 Member States. Combining expert presentations, country case studies, and roundtable discussions, participants examined system-level challenges affecting laboratory performance. Workshop proceedings were synthesized according to the predefined thematic areas that guided the workshop discussions, drawing on rapporteurs’ reports and validated through participant review. Key issues included overreliance on external funding, fragile procurement and supply chains, limited equipment servicing, weak sample referral networks, fragmented data systems, and inadequate contingency planning. Comparative country experiences showed that stronger domestic financing and institutionalized leadership structures were linked to greater operational continuity. Emerging innovations such as hybrid decentralization of diagnostic services and integrated sample referral networks were discussed, with success contingent on strengthened leadership in strategic planning, resource mobilization, and cross-sector coordination. The workshop identified cross-cutting priorities, including financial independence, sustainable equipment servicing, quality management, One Health-aligned digital interoperability, and leadership networks for building resilient systems. The meeting concluded that beyond infrastructure, Africa’s epidemic preparedness depends on empowered and committed leaders capable of overcoming challenges to steer resilient and sustainable laboratory systems.
The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing, and AI tools are being integrated into many aspects of daily life, including medical care and public health. The full extent to which AI related tools can be implemented in order to strengthen health systems are a matter of continued debate. The Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität’s (CIHLMU) 2025 student-led symposium on "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Health Systems Strengthening to Achieve One Health" deliberated on the transformative potential of AI in global health. The primary focus of the symposium was to explore how AI can be leveraged to strengthen health systems. Presentations were delivered by health experts on AI from Africa and Europe. The event provided a platform for experts and students to discuss how AI can be harnessed to improve healthcare delivery, disease surveillance, and research. Discussions resonated around AI health-related research, responsible AI integration, advocacy for AI-related policies, and challenges associated with AI integration in health, such as data privacy and the need for robust governance frameworks. Emphasis was placed on the importance of context-specific implementation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and robust governance to ensure AI’s responsible integration into One Health approaches. The symposium concluded that AI holds immense promise to strengthen health systems by improving efficiency, equity, and responsiveness. However, ethical, infrastructural, and regulatory challenges must be addressed, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
In a context of increasing efforts towards the establishment of a Regional Health Data Hub for the African Region, the 2024 West African Policy Dialogue brought together researchers and policymakers from seven West African countries in a two-day meeting in Aburi, Ghana. This report provides a high-level summary of the discussions at the meeting. The forum emphasized that the use of poor, incomplete, or inaccurate data will have negative consequences, regardless of the sophistication of the analytic tools used. New technologies have emerged that can support the generation and effective use of data. Yet, governments in West-Africa struggle to maximize the benefits of these technologies, including genomic surveillance, real-time data generation, and supranational data integration and exchange. Policies are needed that support and regulate new technologies and contribute to greater capabilities for better data.
This paper reports on insights from the OPTIMA (Optimal Treatment for Patients with Solid Tumours in Europe Through Artificial Intelligence) prototyping workshop held in Berlin from November 6 to November 8, 2024. Through integrated analysis of clinical, genomic, imaging and pathology data, we addressed the following key challenges in breast and lung cancer management: utility of comprehensive genomic profiling in metastatic breast cancer settings; relevance of tumor heterogeneity for predicting treatment response; development of less invasive technologies for assessing tumor biology; and treatment outcomes in early stages of small cell lung cancer. Our findings demonstrate the potential of computational analysis using multiple data modalities to identify cancer molecular subtypes and enhance treatment selection and monitoring while highlighting important areas for future development to achieve the research objectives of the OPTIMA consortium.
Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent malignancy globally and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Approximately 15%–30% of patients are diagnosed with metastatic CRC (mCRC), and despite increasing survival rates, mCRC remains fatal. There are notable variations in the incidence and mortality rates of CRC across European countries, which may be attributed to the differences in lifestyle patterns and variations in cancer diagnosis and management practices. Standard initial treatments for mCRC include chemotherapeutic agents and targeted therapies. This report presents the findings of a virtual meeting held from 21 January to 2 February 2025. The meeting included healthcare professionals from 10 Eastern European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia). The experts shared their opinions on various topics such as the current clinical practice and existing clinical challenges in the treatment of patients with mCRC, factors influencing treatment choices, and the place of fruquintinib therapy in the management of mCRC. The discussion was facilitated using open-ended questions. The primary objective of this article was to provide an overview of the experts’ opinions and experiences related to the current treatment approaches to mCRC management, with a focus on fruquintinib in Eastern Europe. The experts identified the need for molecular and genetic profiling, multidisciplinary coordination, limited availability of and access to targeted and newly approved medications, and lack of reimbursement as key challenges in managing patients with mCRC in these regions. The experts also highlighted the importance of patient education and participation in regional and international clinical trials of new therapeutics. They also noted the need for generating real-world evidence on the safety and efficacy of fruquintinib, its comparative efficacy versus other later-line therapies, its efficacy as an earlier line of therapy, and its sequencing in the current treatment practices. Furthermore, despite the lack of direct experience with fruquintinib, most experts acknowledged its potential efficacy as a later-line therapy for mCRC and considered its effectiveness to be comparable to that of other third-line treatments.
Respiratory pathogen surveillance dashboards surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained widely used tools for real-time data visualization in public health. While these dashboards offer timely, actionable insights for monitoring trends and decision-making, their rapid expansion has also highlighted persistent challenges related to governance, data accessibility, standardization, and sustainability. To explore these issues in depth, the Center of Excellence for Respiratory Pathogens (CERP) hosted a two-day workshop in Lyon, France. Experts representing a range of respiratory pathogen surveillance initiatives convened to share experiences, highlight successes, and discuss ongoing challenges. Key themes included the need for improved data quality, transparency, and standardization; sustainable IT infrastructure and staffing; greater access to underlying data; and alignment between dashboard objectives and user needs. Participants emphasized that broader governance and collaboration challenges strongly impact dashboard performance and interoperability. This report summarizes the valuable insights and subsequent actionable recommendations that emerged from the workshop, offering guidance to both developers and users of respiratory pathogen (or disease burden) dashboards. It aims to support the development of a more integrated, effective, and sustainable global respiratory surveillance ecosystem.
In 2021, an ad hoc committee of the United States (U.S.) National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) affirmed that robust, relationship-centered primary care is the foundation of efficient, effective health care. Yet the ad hoc committee also noted primary care was “slowly dying,” due to chronic under-investment, ill-suited payment models, and inadequate workforce planning and development. Encouragingly, efforts to revitalize primary care are underway. To accelerate this movement by generating expert consensus recommendations on the highest priority actions to take in repairing the frayed U.S. primary care base, clinical scientists at the University of California Davis (UCD) School of Medicine convened the Summit to Revitalize Primary Care (Rev PC). Summit recommendations were generated in four closed working sessions of a national Expert Committee. Committee members were selected to ensure a breadth of perspectives (e.g., health plans, purchasers of insurance, regulatory agencies, health systems, clinicians, educators, researchers, economists) from the public and private sectors. Seven high priority recommendations emerged: (1) Increase the proportion of spending on primary care, coupled with initiatives to slow the growth in total health care spending; (2) Pay for primary care using models that support high quality, team-based, relationship-centered, equitable care; (3) Assist practices in transformation to advanced primary care models and assess the impacts on clinical teams, patients, and communities; (4) Maximize primary care’s potential to equitably advance health; (5) Advocate for training an appropriately large and diverse primary care physician workforce; (6) Expand research to address the most pressing issues in primary care; (7) Collaborate with a broad array of societal stakeholders in messaging the importance of robust primary care. These recommendations both overlap with and expand on those of the NASEM ad hoc committee and subsequent Standing Committee on Primary Care. Broad pursuit of the recommendations would catalyze sustained momentum toward appropriate primary care investment and workforce planning and development, enabling U.S. primary care to realize its yet-unfulfilled potential to improve population health and advance health equity while helping to control growth in total health care costs.
Cell migration is a fundamental phenomenon in biology that underlies normal development as well as cancer. Recently, a data-driven approach was introduced that uses deep reinforcement learning(DRL) and 3-D live images to study cell migration. This approach formulates the cell migration process as a sequential Markov decision process (MDP), so that hypotheses of the underlying mechanism of the observed migration can easily be incorporated as high-level regulatory rules and constraints for DRL. The application of the approach successfully uncovered a novel mechanism of cell migration in C. elegans embryogenesis that involves a modular organization of cells by using ubiquitous labels of cell nuclei and simple rules based on empirical statistics of the images. This success demonstrates new opportunities to use DRL to infer the biology of cell migration without prior knowledge. This paper presents an open framework, CellMigrationGym, to standardize the DRL approach to study cell migration. Built upon common packages (OpenAI Gym, PyBullet, and DRL libraries), CellMigrationGym provides powerful and flexible functions to investigate cell migration behavior. Through a case study, we demonstrate the critical functions of CellMigrationGym with technical details, such as 1) preparation and standardization of multiple observational data, 2) reward formulation and DRL model configuration appertaining to the hypotheses of migration mechanism (such as gradient-driven and collective cell behavior-driven mechanisms), 3) exploration of migration scenarios under hypothesized mechanisms, and 4) evaluation of neighboring cell’s influence on the cell migration.
Sexual and gender minority people (SGM) experience multiple cancer-related disparities, including higher rates of cancer risk factors, lower rates of cancer screening, higher lifetime risk of cancer, and unmet needs throughout cancer survivorship. Although many national organizations, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS), have emphasized the need for more cancer research among SGM communities, currently no consensus exists about the highest research priorities, promising research models, or mechanisms to support collaboration between geographically dispersed scientific teams. To address this gap, we convened a three-day conference to focus on the “Science of Cancer Health Equity for SGM Communities.” Held at the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center Campus in New York City from October 5–7, 2023, this conference brought together researchers, trainees, early-stage investigators, and community members. The conference aimed to: 1) examine the current span of evidence-based research on SGM cancer across the cancer control continuum; 2) establish SGM cancer research priorities; 3) promote the careers and research of trainees and early stage investigators, especially those from minoritized backgrounds; 4) develop a transdisciplinary network of professionals with a focus on mentorship and shared research methods; and 5) disseminate findings from this conference, including priorities for SGM cancer health equity research. Response to the conference was overwhelmingly positive. The success of this inaugural conference indicated the need for additional efforts to advance SGM cancer research and expand on scientific priorities.
The world has committed to ending viral hepatitis as a public health threat as part of sustainable development goal 3.3. World Health Organization (WHO) has developed Global Health Sector Strategies (GHSS 2022–2030) to provide guidance to countries to end viral hepatitis by 2030. India instituted the national program for prevention and control of viral hepatitis (National Viral Hepatitis Control Program, NVHCP) in 2018 in alignment with the global perspective and strategic framework. The Chennai Liver Foundation conducted the first Indian Hepatitis Summit 2025 as a collective movement towards a hepatitis-free India. The summit was conducted on January 17–18, 2025, at Chennai. Healthcare professionals, policymakers, advocates, researchers, and civil society representatives gathered to share successes, discuss barriers, and address the urgent challenges of viral hepatitis and promote collaborative efforts to combat this silent epidemic in India. The meeting was attended by 54 program faculty and 275 delegates from government agencies, national and international organizations, and public and private hospitals. The two-day agenda included 14 sessions, with 46 talks and four panel discussions. The summit gathered important lessons from global initiatives, surveyed the current landscape of viral hepatitis in India, shared the best practices from some parts of world including India, identified barriers to elimination initiatives, and discussed potential solutions to overcome these barriers. Discussions also included the developments in viral hepatitis screening, diagnosis, and treatment; the ways to tackle the stigma associated with the illness; and innovative measures to improve public health results. In collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), the Chennai Liver Foundation launched the Hepat App and a Hepatitis Online Course. The summit served as a platform to raise awareness about the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and effective treatment options; and to delineate future directions for viral hepatitis elimination in India.
The 2025 Annual Meeting of National Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Programme Managers (2025 PMM) in the WHO African Region convened stakeholders in Lomé, Togo, under the theme “Innovating for Acceleration: Pathway to NTD Elimination.” A key focus was the changing funding environment and the necessity for enhanced integration of NTD services within health systems to guarantee sustainable advancement toward the 2030 elimination goals. The conference was convened in the context of substantial disruptions stemming from the USAID funding pause, which interrupted essential mass drug administration (MDA) programmes and epidemiological monitoring activities across multiple nations. Country experiences highlighted the fragility of external funding dependence and underscored the importance of domestic resource mobilization, decentralized implementation, and programmatic integration. Strategic discussions highlighted opportunities to incorporate NTD services into national health financing mechanisms, and routine health campaigns, alongside leveraging digital tools and partnerships. Participants emphasized the urgency of political commitment, sustained investments, and integrated service delivery models to build resilience and close equity gaps. The meeting further underscored the need for bold, country-led responses and multisectoral collaboration to advance NTD elimination efforts in a rapidly evolving global health financing environment.
On August 9, 2024, the CTIP symposium brought together various stakeholders in pediatric medical device (PMD) innovation to discuss the current state of pediatric medical devices (PMDs) and action steps that can collectively be taken to further drive PMD innovation. Meeting topics included 1) the Future of Pediatric Innovation, 2) Engaging Patients and Their Families in PMD Development, 3) Partnership Opportunities to Support PMD Research and Development (R&D), 4) Leveraging Real-World Evidence to Enhance PMDs, and 5) Fundraising and Investing in Pediatrics. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the symposium proceedings, highlighting the critical needs, challenges, and opportunities in the PMD sector, and outlines potential areas for collaboration among stakeholders to drive progress in PMD development.
The development of essential health care package (EHCP) has been recognized as a critical tool for guiding country level actions towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Although countries’ packages vary in scope, many utilize the package to guide resource allocation, equity, advocacy, prioritization of services, political commitment, and accountability. The concept of health packages has evolved from basic packages (focusing on limited high-burden conditions), to benefit- (cost-effective interventions) and essential packages (what people need, with benefits as sub-packages). The purpose of this proceeding was to document processes from Botswana and Sierra Leone workshops, which aimed to support country conceptualization of an EHCP, including content and scope. More specifically, the workshop aimed to gain consensus on identification of conditions to be addressed in each age cohort, rationalizing the EHCP interventions across public health functions, levels of care and age cohorts. Technical working groups were constructed for each age cohort and tasked to lead the appraisal of interventions for technical comprehensiveness, contextualization to country needs, and mapping of interventions to the appropriate levels of care. As a result, the countries' draft EHCPs were developed, encompassing interventions for 80 + conditions. The EHCP is expected to set precedence in defining ‘essential’ interventions for the population, structurally promoting integration of health services, and providing succinct guidance to partners, and stakeholders on the country's priorities, in terms of health interventions to be delivered at various levels. Many countries are striving to re-pivot their health systems, in order to meet the evolving contextual needs of the population and ensure their systems remain fit for purpose. EHCPs can be utilized to guide health sector inputs, for robust system functionality and attainment of UHC.
The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) was created to foster and enhance cooperation, collaboration, and communication of microbiome research among Department of Defense (DoD) researchers and their collaborators. The 8th Annual TSMC Symposium was held in Colorado Springs, CO on 25–26 September 2024 and featured oral and poster presentations and discussions centered on microbiome-related topics within four broad thematic areas: 1) Surveillance; 2) Health and Performance; 3) Enablers; and 4) Remediation. Collectively this meeting promoted sharing of methods, experiments, and findings across DoD affiliated microbiome research and promoted future and ongoing collaborations. This report summarizes the proceedings of the 8th Annual TSMC Symposium.
