Blog Post Week 5

• What constituted the partnership?

1. 1. Sickle Cell Society

–  We have similar goals with this organization and their partnership would benefit us greatly

1. Sickle Cell Carers Awareness Network and Sia’s Kono Clinic

• Provides a specialized sickle cell center to work with that purely focuses on helping sickle cell patients

1. Dr. Cheedy Jaja 

• He has personal goals of improving sickle cell awareness and Sierra Leone and is thus a great partner to work with as we have similar goals 

1. Sickle Scan

• A good competitor to work with as they developed a similar test strip 

1. University of Makeni/EBK University

• Newly formed partnership as of our most recent trip to Sierra Leone 2022
• Has nursing and health schools 

1. World Hope International 

• Connections with Khanjan

• How did the partner help you? Why or why not? 

1. 1. Sickle Cell Society

1. Sickle Cell Carers Awareness Network and Sia’s Kono Clinic

• Provides a specialized location to implement and validate our device
• Allows us to connect with sickle cell patients to assist in our prevalence and perception study 

1. Dr. Cheedy Jaja

• Strengthens our connections with other health clinics in Sierra Leone 
• Builds trust among us and Sierra Leone communities 

1. Sickle Scan

• Their initial device provides a good comparison to how our device could be more accurate 

1. University of Makeni/EBK University

• Builds in country connections with college students in the health field
• Allows for the possibility of our research to also expand to in country research among college students
• Builds on the education platform of our device

1. World Hope International 

• World Hope has connections throughout Sierra Leone which helps further our connections
• Their credibility makes people more likely to trust us

• Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not? 

1. 1. Sickle Cell Society

• Yes, this relationship is symbiotic because we are both supporting each other’s cause
• Their educational efforts help support our venture whereas the production our device helps their mission of reducing SCD’s impact

1. Sickle Cell Carers Awareness Network and Sia’s Kono Clinic

• Yes, this partnership has been beneficial for our team 
• We had the chance to visit Sia’s clinic and converse with sickle cell patients, as well as validate our test strip with blood samples during our fieldwork trip

1. Dr. Cheedy Jaja

• Yes, Dr. Cheedy Jaja has been very helpful in strengthening our connections in country and has similar goals as our venture
• Recently, Dr. Cheedy Jaja has not been too available in assisting with our venture and he was not in Sierra Leone during our time there. However, we were still able to connect with a number of health clinics in Sierra Leone.

1. Sickle Scan

• Yes, since Scan has developed a similar test strip, they allow us to compare our device in order to further improve the specificity and sensitivity of our test strip results. 

1. University of Makeni/EBK University

• Yes, the university can help us further our connections and help us better understand the current curriculum on SCD
• We can help them by recognizing them in our successes 

1. World Hope International

• Yes, their connections have strengthened our own network and as our device becomes more popular, so will their name

• What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable? 

1. 1. Sickle Cell Society

• Further communication between Sickle Cell society and us would make the partnership more equitable. We are meeting with them in the coming weeks to figure out the best way to support eachother in coming ventures.

1. Sickle Cell Carers Awareness Network and Sia’s Kono Clinic

• Continuous communication with the Sickle Cell Carers Awareness network even when our team is not in the field would help to strengthen the partnership. This would involve keeping SCCAN in the loop about the progress of our project and successes and setbacks in the labs. To make the partnership more equitable, we should use the connections we have in country to help improve Sia’s Kono Clinic’s connections to clinics across Sierra Leone that are testing for sickle cell disease. 

1. Dr. Cheedy Jaja 

• More communication (specifically from Dr. Jaja) would make our relationship more equitable. Recently, we have been reaching out with few responses back which makes the relationship hard to maintain.

1. Sickle Scan

• Sickle scan was gracious enough to give us their tests to use in Sierra Leone as well as some helpful tips. Continuing this positive, but competitive, relationship is crucial as we continue to optimize our device.

1. University of Makeni/EBK University

• Once again, maintaining the relationships we developed this past summer by continuing to update the University of Makeni/ EBK University about the progress of our project would help strengthen this partnership. To make it more equitable, we should focus on searching for ways that potential teaching programs regarding sickle cell disease could be incorporated into the education program at the EBK and the University of Makeni. 

1. World Hope International 

• We have a fairly strong and established relationship with World Hope. Continuing this positive relationship is important to fieldwork. We can do this by keeping them updated on the state of our project and continuing to show gratitude for all that they do.

 

Blog Prompt 2: 

• Multilateral: 

• • • Specific Example 1: World Health Organization (WHO) 
      • The WHO is a multilateral organization that could be extremely important to our project in the later phases. Their goal is to fight the burden of disease and acheive better health for the world. This aligns with our project goals and their widespread influence could help with the large scale expansion of our device. For now, the WHO could help the improvement of our project in the form of grants.
    • Specific Example 2: UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Education Fund)
      • Unicef has influence across the globe, making it another great partner for the large scale expansion of our device. Their goal is to improve the health of children across the globe. This closely aligns with our goal of testing all newborns in hospitals and clinics across Sierra Leone to reduce the childhood mortality rate from SCD. Unicef has an office in Makeni – a great place to visit next time we travel to Sierra Leone. 

• Government Agencies:

• • • Specific Example 1: /NIH
      • Collaboration with the NIH would be not only a beneficial source of funding but also a way to increase venture credibility.  We can apply specifically for the NIH Tech Accelerator Challenge, which offers 1,000,000 in prizes to spur the development of prototypes of non-invasive diagnostic technologies for SCD, malaria and anemia, as well as diseases with high global and public health impact.
    • Specific Example 2: Pharmaceutical Control Board of Sierra Leone
      • The purpose of having this partner would be to gain social capital while also securing credibility in Sierra Leone. The partnership would be most helpful after our beginning testing phase, as we would present our product as a gateway to treatment. The Board would be the most helpful in making this gateway possible.

• Non-profits:

• • • Specific Example 1: Venturewell Accelerator

• Apply for a 20,000$ grant and entry into the Propel entrepreneurship training workshop. The eligibility criteria involves being a student led team, as well as proposing a technology innovation that benefits society and has university support. Seeing as we check these boxes, this application would be very beneficial.  

• • Specific Example 2: Grand Challenge Canada
    • Grand Challenge Canada supplies grants between $250,00 and $400,000 CAD for innovations that not only apply science and technology, but integrate social and business approaches in order to create impact. This would be applicable to our project, however we would need to work on the business outline of our venture. 

• Foundations: 

• Specific Example 1: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Apply for a grant from the Global Grand Challenges fund from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Initial grants of US$100,000 are awarded two times a year in hopes of spurring initiatives that are working to solve key health and development problems. 
• Specific Example 2: National Science Foundation
  • An independent agency that supports all fields of fundamental science and engineering, the NSF provides grants and agreements to more than 2,000 colleges. The average award size is around 140,000$, and approximately 20% of those that apply for awards receive them. 

• Academia: 

• • • Specific Example 1: College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences
      • This is the only Medical School in Sierra Leone. They may be able to partner with us in better education regarding Sickle Cell Disease and possibly the efficacy of our device.
    • Specific Example 2: The Temple/St. Luke’s School of Medicine
      • A partnership with a local medical school could be beneficial in the clinical testing phase of our product.

• Social Ventures: 

• • • Specific Example 1: Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare
      • This is a venture that helps to provide better Sickle Cell Disease care in Saudi Arabia. They could be beneficial to learn from because they are also stemming from US academia and are going somewhere with a high frequency of the Sickle Cell trait to try and improve outcomes.
    • Specific Example 2: KovaDx
      • This venture is associated with designing technology that will improve access to SCD diagnostics and care. Their technology is supposed to be able to diagnose many rare disorders in addition to SCD, but learning about it may help with our design process.

• Think Tanks: 

• • Specific Example 1: Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

HMD is an example of a think tank that focuses on health policy, and it is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. HMD works in committees, forums, etc. to discuss research topics and expand knowledge concerning healthcare. The National Academy has discussed the importance of formulating a strategic plan to tackle sickle cell disease in the US, and their work should be considered as a guideline for global social impact on sickle cell disease in Sub-Saharan African countries as well. 

 

• Specific Example 2: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is another example of a think tank that works specifically on health policy research, with sickle cell disease being one of the topics they discuss and work to expand research on. 

• K-12 Systems: 

• • Specific Example 1: Bethlehem Area School District

The Bethlehem Area School District is an example of a K-12 system, with the Broughal Middle School located right next to Lehigh University’s campus. This K-12 system would be an important consideration for our education platform of sickle cell disease and our research. 

 

• Specific Example 2: Allentown School District 

The Allentown School District is another example of a K-12 system that would be beneficial to our education platform in our sickle cell research. 

• Corporations: 

• • • Specific Example 1: Novartis
      • This company has the goal of making SCD diagnosis and treatment more available in countries where it is common. A partnership with them could allow us to move our device into many other countries after its development.
    • Specific Example 2: Sickle Cell Disease Association of America
      • This company focuses on advocating for SCD and finding a universal cure. They may be involved in research or have resources that could be valuable to our venture.

• Consulting Firms: 

• • Specific Example 1: Deloitte Consulting LLP

Deloitte is a leading healthcare consulting firm that works to solve specific problems for healthcare organizations. They are important in the design and manufacturing sector of engineering, and would be important for our venture once we reach the manufacturing phase of our device. 

• Specific Example 2: GE Healthcare Partners

GE Healthcare Partners is another healthcare consulting firm that works to create solutions for healthcare organizations and companies. Since our venture is engineering a product, we should consider how consulting firms would help our product in the market and manufacturing phase in the future. 

• Startups: 

• • Specific Example 1: KovaDx

In addition to being a social venture, KovaDx is a startup that is working on developing a point-of-care monitoring device for sickle cell disease. Their venture would be important for us to follow and possibly reach out, as they have very similar goals as us for diagnosing and managing sickle cell disease in sub-saharn Africa. KovaDx also emphasizes the importance of monitering sickle cell disease to prevent severely painful bone pain crises. 

• Specific Example 2: Sickle SCAN

Sickle SCAN is another startup venture that has developed a point-of-care lateral flow diagnostic test strip for sickle cell. Their venture is of importance to us because they have created a similar device as ours and guides us in improving our device to make it even more accurate than their device, specifically for newborn babies.