Dr. Adrian Gardner is the Director of the IU Center for Global Health Equity and Director of the AMPATH Consortium. He is an infectious diseases specialist who earned his MD from Brown University and his MPH from Harvard. Adrian first engaged with the AMPATH partnership as a medical student at Brown in 2001 and sought every opportunity to return to Kenya, eventually serving as team leader in 2006. He served as AMPATH’s executive field director from 2012-2020.

Description of the video:

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- My name is Adrian Gardner.

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I'm an infectious disease
physician here at IU.

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I've been based in Kenya
for the last seven years

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as the executive field director
for the AMPATH Consortium.

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The Consortium's a group of
North American institutions

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that partner together under the leadership

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of Indiana University and
ultimately partner together

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with Moi Teaching & Referral
Hospital and Moi University,

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particularly the college
of health sciences.

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I'm a bit of an AMPATH lifer.

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I went first Eldoret in
2001 as a medical student

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from Brown University and
then returned in 2006-2007

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for a year as the internal
medicine team leader

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and I was going back and
forth working tuberculosis

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and HIV and then returned
full-time in 2012

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as the executive field director.

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I caught the bug in 2001 as a student.

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I think it just, it's a very
unique model of engagement

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in global health and it
gives us all an opportunity

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to engage in direct patient
care and that mission

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of leading with care.

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Creating a platform for
education and research,

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but the concept of leading
with care was very appealing.

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Yeah, so IU and through
the AMPATH partnership

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have really had a major
impact on the HIV epidemic

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and really health
systems in western Kenya.

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I think there's no question
that AMPATH was one

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of the leaders in providing
HIV care in the beginning

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and because of the
institutional partnership

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that we had, we were
able to rapidly scale up

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our HIV treatment program
in a way that really

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made a huge difference in people's lives

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and there's still
significant amounts of stigma

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and there are still
people who delay coming

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to seek care because of lack of disclosure

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or concern about stigma.

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It's definitely gotten
better than it used to be,

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but there's still some ways to go.

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My favorite part of working
with AMPATH is really

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the people that we work with.

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We have an amazing team, both
Kenyans and North Americans

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and we have a great community
of people that are all

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striving to work in the same direction

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to try and improve care and
education and do groundbreaking

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research that can inform
care models in sub-Saharan

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Africa and other parts of the world.

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So being part of a team
where we're all feeling

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like we're moving in the same direction

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and unified in our vision is really

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the most important thing.

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And I think the opportunity
to really touch patients

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and make a huge difference
in someone's life

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when you're dealing with
that level of poverty,

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it's very easy to make a
huge difference in someone's

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life by something very simple
and that's very meaningful

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and rewarding because you
get that immediate feedback.
Each year Kenyan medical and dental students from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, spend several weeks learning and building connections at Indiana University.
Global Health Scholars Day provides an opportunity for factulty, staff and students interested in global health to network and learn from each other.
President Whitten presents the John W. Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Programs and Studies Award to Dr. Kara Wools-Kaloustian.
Posters on a variety of topics were presented at Global Health Scholars Day.
Dr. Robert Einterz, former director of the IU Center for Global Health Equity, discusses global health with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.
Leadership from IU School of Medicine and IU Health visit the AMPATH partnership in Eldoret, Kenya. IU has led a consortium of North American academic health centers in partnership with Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for 30 years.

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