Louise Ivers
Born
Dublin, Ireland
Academic background
EducationMD, University College Dublin
DTM&H, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
MPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Academic work
InstitutionsMassachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School

Louise Catherine Ivers is an Irish-American infectious disease specialist. She is the executive director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. During the 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak, Ivers led a major humanitarian and public health response, resulting in increased access to HIV and TB treatment, and served as a technical advisor to the World Health Organization.

Early life and education

Ivers was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, as the middle of three children.[1] She remained in her home country for her medical degree at University College Dublin (UCD) and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, before travelling to the United States for her residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a fellowship in infectious diseases at Harvard University, and Master's Degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.[2]

Career

Ivers joined the non-profit organization, Partners In Health (PIH) in 2003 as a clinical director as it began its collaboration with the Haitian government. She helped expand the organizations reach across Haiti from a three-room clinic to several new buildings including a clinic that contains examining rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, a small inpatient ward, and isolation rooms for TB patients.[1] During her time in Haiti, the country suffered a cholera outbreak and earthquake.[3][4] Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she was appointed Chief of Mission for PIH and subsequently led a major humanitarian and public health response, resulting in increased access to HIV and TB treatment.[5] In recognition of her efforts in Haiti, Ivers was honored as the 2011 Distinguished Graduate for UCD[5] and the recipient of the Bailey K. Ashford Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.[6] Ivers later published a paper in 2015 showing that PIH's intervention and vaccine distribution slowed the spread of cholera in villages north of Saint-Marc.[7] From 2015 until 2017, she was a member of the executive leadership team at PIH responsible for global strategic implementation and served as a technical advisor to the World Health Organization and the Haitian Ministry of Health.[8]

In 2019, Ivers was elected a Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation[9] and was the recipient of the Leadership In Public Health Practice Award.[10] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivers and Wilfredo Matias published an op-ed "calling out fundamental weaknesses in the country's public health data systems, which are unable to capture accurate data on where, why and how the virus spreads in real time."[11] She later urged the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, to speed up the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Powell, Alvin (April 3, 2008). "Louise Ivers: A higher purpose". The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Louise C. Ivers/Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health". irishamerica.com. August 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ Guillaume, Yodeline; Raymond, Max; Jerome, Gregory J.; Ternier, Ralph; Ivers, Louis C. (November 10, 2019). "'It was a ravage!': lived experiences of epidemic cholera in rural Haiti". BMJ Global Health. 4 (6): e001834. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001834. PMC 6861088. PMID 31798994.
  4. ↑ Ivers, Louise C.; Walton, David A. (January 1, 2012). "The "First" Case of Cholera in Haiti: Lessons for Global Health". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 86 (1): 36–38. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0435. PMC 3247106. PMID 22232448.
  5. 1 2 "PIH's Dr. Louise Ivers honored by University College Dublin". pih.org. May 4, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. ↑ "HMS's Louise Ivers honored". The Harvard Gazette. December 8, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Cholera Vaccine Succeeds in Haiti". pih.org. February 20, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Louise C. Ivers, MB, BCH, BAO, MD, MPH, DTM&H". globalhealth.massgeneral.org. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Louise C. Ivers, MD, MPH, DTM&H". the-asci.org. American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ "2019 LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE AWARD". alumni.sph.harvard.edu. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ Drees, Jackie (January 7, 2021). "'We're fighting COVID one-handed': 2 Mass General physicians on the need to strengthen data systems". beckershospitalreview.org. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ Dwyer, Dialynn (January 15, 2021). "'We should end each day with no covid19 vaccines in the freezer': MGH doctor urges Gov. Baker to speed up vaccinations". boston.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
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