Penelope Muelenaer, MD, MPH
ACTIVE MEMBER • Associate Professor
Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
pmuel@vt.edu
In February 2004 I was offered the opportunity to "change the health of nations" by the CEO of CitiHope International, an international NGO with a global health focus. I went to Malawi as a medical consultant during a trip to determine locations and implementation of a food relief program during a famine. I was also asked to start a needs assessment for diagnosis and treatment of infants and children with HIV/AIDS. Later that year, in October, I returned to Malawi, and for almost two months lived in a community and worked at Mzuzu Central Hospital. As I learned about the culture in the community, I also learned about the challenges of healthcare in one of the poorest nations in the world. I provided the medical personnel at Mzuzu Central Hospital, referring hospitals and clinics with basic education to prepare them to diagnose and treat pediatric AIDS patients. Over the next 18 years I focused my professional life on serving the underserved in Malawi. I have returned to Malawi on almost a yearly basis, conducting research, teaching, and introducing colleagues and students from the US to the global health needs. I have mentored undergraduate, graduate, and medical students who have conducted medical device design projects related to improving care in Malawi. Beginning in May 2022, I have been a leader of multidisciplinary teams conducting research in Malawi. I have been the primary faculty lead for our public health operations of TEAM Malawi (described in Contributions to Science below) Over a series of four visits, my team of undergraduate and graduate public health students have been working with our colleagues at the Malawi University of Science and Technology, public health personnel at the Thyolo District Hospital, and the Thyolo District Health System with its health centers and Health Surveillance Assistants. With a focus on women's health, we are mapping the access to healthcare, from the home to the hospital. Utilizing this information, we are studying the social determinants of health and the barriers women, children and families encounter. We are working with Virginia Tech Carilion Health Care and partners in Malawi to develop medical devices, health related devices, process,intervention and public health education to improve health in low resource settings. One example is transdisciplinary team of students and faculty recent focus has been on cervical and breast cancer, especially screening in the home for HPV. We have held several focus groups in remote areas to develop a complete understanding of women's reproductive health. This has included introduction of the concept of self-examination/acquisition of vaginal specimens for laboratory analysis. I am utilizing my knowledge of diseases found in Malawi, my skills in public health education, my understanding of the healthcare system in Malawi, and relationships with key stakeholders in governmental agencies, academic institutions, and individual hospitals.