The Ideas Lab brought together 30 researchers from across the University of Michigan to develop innovative approaches that address vaccine equity in low-income countries. The Ideas Lab took place at the Michigan League from February 28 through March 2, 2022.
The Center for Global Health Equity has allocated up to $3 million for transformative, high-impact project ideas developed through the workshop that can be co-designed and implemented with global partners.
Provocateur: Joseph Mathew, MD
Dr. Joseph L. Mathew is professor of Pediatric Pulmonology at the Advanced Pediatrics Centre of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India. Mathew has expertise in pediatric respiratory disease, vaccination and immunization for population health, and evidence-based healthcare decision making.
Provocateur: Rajeev Venkayya, MD
Dr. Venkayya leads a vertically-integrated business developing vaccines for dengue, norovirus, and Zika. Venkayya serves as an independent member of the board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Provocateur: Patricia García, MPH, MD
Dr. Patricia J. García is a professor in the School of Public Health at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru. She has served as Peru’s Minister of Health, dean of the School of Public Health at Cayetano Heredia University, and chief of the Peruvian National Institute of Health.
Vaccine Equity Insights
Many of our Ideas Lab participants are new to global vaccine work, bringing their diverse expertise and passion to this vital initiative. Some of our participants and advisors are already engaged in this work specifically, including recent publications:
- Vaccination Timeliness Is Vital to Reducing Childhood Mortality
- Vaccine Access and Vaccine Hesitancy Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
- Can New Vaccine Technologies Really Increase Vaccination Coverage?
- Rapidly Urbanizing Communities in Middle-Income Countries Could Be Sources of Vaccine Hesitancy
- If We Cannot Solve Vaccine Equity Globally, We Cannot Escape Variants Locally
- Vaccine Inequity Is Nothing New, but New Approaches Are Needed
Ideas Lab in Pictures
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Abram Wagner and Matt Boulton of the School of Public Health and Pascale Leroueil of the University of Michigan William Davidson Institute discuss vaccine equity during the Ideas Lab.
Brian Zikmund-Fisher of the School of Public Health keeps multiple projects moving forward—and up!
Basit Zafar, Magaret Frye, Seda Saluk, and Elizabeth Roberts of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts discuss multidisciplinary approaches to vaccine equity during the Ideas Lab.
Chuanwu Xi of Michigan Public Health pitches a novel vaccine equity solution while Holly Jarman (Michigan Public Health) and Basit Zafar (LSA) look on.
Emily Treleaven of the Survey Research Center (ISR) and Emily Martin of the School of Public Health work on a project.
Shobita Parthasarathy and John Ayanian of the Ford School of Public Policy discuss policy challenges around vaccine equity during the Ideas Lab.
Demonstrating the intensive work of rapid ideation are Center scholar Geoffrey Siwo, Henry Wang of Michigan Engineering, and Lisa Lapeyrouse, associate professor of Health Science and Administration, University of Michigan–Flint
Abram Wagner of Michigan Public Health, Caroline Hogan of the Institute for Health Policy and Innovation, and Andrew Shuman of Michigan Medicine talk vaccine-preventable diseases and public policy.
Rahul Ladhania of Michigan Public Health and Antonios Koumpias, assistant professor of Economics at University of Michigan–Dearborn, discuss new vaccine equity ideas.