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Network crosses disciplines, collects insights

George Grattan

The Zika virus is well known by now. You probably remember the Ebola epidemic (2014) and may recall outbreaks of H1N1 and H5N1 (aka “bird flu”) in 2009 and 2004, respectively.

But have you heard of Chikungunya? MERS-CoV? How about health threats posed by oil and chemical spills, toxins in consumer products, and natural disasters like floods? These might not have registered on your radar or, for that matter, received attention by the U.S. government. What accounts for the gap in awareness? And what are the broad implications?

These questions inform research by Assistant Professor of Global Studies Rob DeLeo. He has been studying what drives — or fails to drive — government preparedness for various types of disasters, including public health crises. His work included developing an empirical model to predict when, say, Congress would respond to an emerging disease. But DeLeo ran into a roadblock.

“My discipline doesn’t have an obvious modeling technique for these types of problems,” he explains. “I needed to take other areas of study into account.”

Enter Bentley’s Health Thought Leadership Network (Health TLN), through which DeLeo connected with colleagues in other fields, notably in the sciences and economics, and refined his model drawing on their expertise.


NEWFOUND VIGOR
Launched in 2014, the Health TLN is directed by Danielle Hartigan, assistant professor, Natural and Applied Sciences. It engages a wide range of scholars and experts — from both within and outside Bentley — to foster, advance and share impactful research on health and health care issues that no single academic discipline can adequately address alone.

“Cross-disciplinary discussions reinvigorated parts of my research and teaching in ways I never imagined,” says DeLeo. “I was talking to natural scientists and economists, and broadening my universe as a scholar.”

Now into its second phase of development and funding from the university — and continuing to grow — the Health TLN brings together 34 faculty and staff from 17 academic departments and centers. It sponsors annual retreats for faculty and alumni representatives, brings thought leaders to campus for lectures and seminars, offers workshops for members, assists in grant research and applications, and takes a lead role in convening experts around the relevant topics.


GROWING CONNECTIONS
Some 87 percent of participating faculty surveyed credit the Health TLN with developing new scholarly connections, research ideas, projects or funding opportunities. In other areas of accomplishment, faculty working with the Health TLN and Career Services have helped create internship opportunities for students at Mt. Auburn Hospital in nearby Cambridge. Other faculty are working with Children’s Hospital on the communication of risk in the informed consent process.

“Health is an inherently interdisciplinary field,” says DeLeo, who attributes at least two scholarly articles (one at press, the other under review) to his participation in the network. “The TLN has had a major impact in shaping how I think about health care, research it, write about it, and teach about it.”