Grembi Lab’s First Field Visit – Bangladesh
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This summer, PI Dr. Jessica Grembi and graduate student Nazifa Tabassum traveled to Bangladesh for the lab’s first field visit. Bangladesh is one of the study sites of the Experimental Medicine Platform, funded by the Gates Foundation, which tests microbial-directed interventions and their effects on biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction (EED) in pregnant mothers in low- and middle-income countries.
The visit provided an opportunity to see the field team in action through hospital and household visits. The team walked us through the full workflow and demonstrated the CapScan administration and retrieval process, an integral part of our work. We were grateful to engage with the dedicated staff, including physicians, biostatisticians, anthropologists, and biochemists working together in real time. Special thanks to Dr. S. M. Tafsir Hasan, Dr. Amena Al Nishan, and the entire EMP team including Md. Aminul Islam, Dr. Puja Chakraborty, Dr. Sumaiya Tasneem Raisa, Dr. Somaiya Zahan, and Dr. Chandra Shakhar Das for their hospitality and expertise.
The visit also included time at the historic icddr,b Matlab site, where a former floating cholera hospital now stands beside a world-class research center. Standing in a place that has shaped decades of discoveries in maternal and child health was incredibly inspiring, and we return to State College with renewed energy and excitement for the journey ahead.
