Using Biotechnology to Address Global Health Issues

Northwestern Engineering's Master of Biotechnology program (MBP) trains students to make scientific advances that transform the world, and perhaps no better example of this exists than the program's Sustainability & Global Health Biotechnologies (SGHB) certificate.

The SGHB certificate provides students with the knowledge necessary for careers that leverage biotechnology in order to address healthcare access and sustainability challenges in low- and middle-income countries around the world. There are three components of the certificate — course work, research, and an immersion trip — the last of which provides the most memorable experience. 

SGHB certificate students spend three months in South Africa, where they develop first-hand experience identifying opportunities to use biotechnology to improve health and sustainability in the country.

"Capetown is this excellent incubator where you have a world-class university that is well funded and has lots of resources, but you're within five miles of some of the poorest people in Africa," said Keith Tyo, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern and the coordinator of the South Africa immersion trip. "It's really a unique place where you have access to these important problems, as well as the resources to do research and evaluation at a high level."

MBP students collaborate with researchers at the University of Capetown to determine the economic, health, environmental, and social changes that come with implementing new technology. Students visit clinics, interview all types of stakeholders — from doctors and patients to environmental engineers and regulatory agents — and perform literature research. 

"Working and living in South Africa let me experience first hand the challenges that communities face in resource-limited settings," said Siddhant Prabhu (MBP '18), who today is an analyst at Deloitte. "I was fortunate to work with a great team of scientists who encouraged me to ask questions and gave me opportunities to interact with and learn from the experts in the global health industry. I also had the opportunity to visit innovative clinics that are delivering healthcare to those in need, in an inclusive and cost-effective manner."

Through that process, Prabhu came to understand that commercializing global health technologies is, as he said, "a slow and tedious process." He realized how fortunate he was at home to have such easy access to medical resources. 

"When you limit access to resources," he said, "you are forced to think simple and think outside the box."

Bettina Wunderlich (MBP '17) had a similar learning experience.

"I felt so fortunate to have the chance to conduct global health research in a country with high prevalence and incidence of various infectious diseases, in particular, HIV and Tuberculosis," she said. "It made my research feel more relevant and personal, as we could visibly see the consequences of a high disease burden." 

The opportunity helped Wunderlich better understand the impact communicable diseases can have, and her time in South Africa also helped her decide to go back to school to do a PhD in International Health. 

Prabhu also decided to pursue a health-based focus after completing MBP. Like Wunderlich, he credited the SGHB certificate and his time in South Africa as a big influencer in that decision. 

"Prof. Tyo has structured this program really well," Prabhu said. "The classes that I took at Northwestern, combined with the immersive internship experience, truly prepared me to build a career in the healthcare industry."