Health Programs

Trachoma Control Overview

How is trachoma transmitted?

How big is the problem?

How does trachoma lead to blindness?

What is the SAFE strategy?

Trachoma Control Program
 
Paul Emerson, Ph.D., Director, Trachoma Control Program

Dr. Emerson joined The Carter Center as director for the Trachoma Control Program in November 2004. He has spent nearly a decade devoted to operational research and program evaluation in support of the global effort to control trachoma.

Before joining The Carter Center, Dr. Emerson was a research fellow at the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. There he was the principal investigator for evaluations of Helen Keller International and World Vision trachoma control programs in Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nepal, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, in addition to leading operational research in The Gambia and lecturing.

Previously, as principal investigator, Dr. Emerson led the United Kingdom Medical Research Council in The Gambia in conducting the first rigorous study establishing the importance of flies in trachoma transmission and the impact of latrines on trachoma control. He also has led a project to write a practical toolbox for trachoma program managers to implement the 'F' and 'E' components of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control: Surgery; Antibiotic treatment; Facial cleanliness/hygiene promotion; and Environmental improvement.

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Jonathan King, M.S.P.H., Epidemiologist, Trachoma Control Program

As program epidemiologist, Mr. King provides scientific support to the Center's trachoma program.

Mr. King comes to The Carter Center with seven years of applied public health experience from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr. King worked with the Parasitic Diseases Branch where he focused efforts on the elimination of lymphatic filariasis in the Pacific. Through CDC and the International Trachoma Initiative, he helped research integration between the global programs to eliminate lymphatic filariasis and blinding trachoma. In addition, Mr. King served as resident epidemiologist for the American Samoa Department of Health.

He is a graduate of the Public Health Prevention Service, a three year training program of the CDC. During the program, he completed assignments with the Division of International Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases, and a two year field assignment with the Hillsborough County Health Department in Tampa, Fla. He received the 2002 PHPS Award for Distinguished Service and Achievement.

Mr. King completed his undergraduate studies in applied biology at Georgia Institute of Technology and obtained a master of science in public health degree in epidemiology from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. 


Elizabeth Cromwell, M.P.H., Assistant Director, Trachoma Control Program
 
Ms. Cromwell is responsible for the regular monitoring and evaluation of program activities and provides support to the national blindness prevention programs in Carter Center-assisted countries.  She also supports the management of program grants and has an interest in operational research.  Her recent projects have explored the role of gender in trachoma control. 
Prior to joining The Carter Center, she served with the U.S. Peace Corps in Niger from 2003 to 2005.

Ms. Cromwell earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from DePaul University and a master's degree in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Aryc Mosher, M.P.H., Assistant Director, Trachoma Control Program

Mr. Mosher supports the Carter Center's efforts in assisting the national programs to control trachoma in the six African countries:  Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan.  Prior to this position, Mr. Mosher served as resident technical adviser in Ghana for the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 2004-2005, assistant director of the program until 2007, and assistant director of the malaria control program for two years, 2008-2009.

Prior to joining The Carter Center, Mr. Mosher worked for a non profit agency dedicated to improving the quality of life for migrant and seasonal farm workers throughout Michigan.  Mr. Mosher gained extensive field experience spending more than 15 years volunteering, working, and researching in Mali, West Africa, beginning as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in 1990.  In 2001, he worked for the Stop Transmission of Polio Campaign in Chad.

Mr. Mosher received a bachelor of arts degree in communications from Michigan State University and a master's degree in public health in epidemiology from the University of Michigan.  In 1998, Mr. Mosher was awarded a National Security and Education Program Fellowship which supported public health research in Mali.

Stephanie Palmer, Program Development Coordinator, Trachoma Control Program

Ms. Palmer supports the trachoma program by acting as a liaison between program staff, field offices, and consultants. She maintains and updates the trachoma program files, including an electronic library of research papers, field reports, and health education materials. In addition, she compiles monthly data and narrative reports from the program's field offices. Ms. Palmer is also responsible for the coordination of program-sponsored meetings and events.

Ms. Palmer brings over five years of public health experience to the trachoma program.  Her most recent experience before joining the Carter Center was with the Wyoming Department of Health Communicable Disease Section.  In 2006 and 2007, she was the Carter Center's technical advisor to the Guinea Worm eradication program for the districts of Tillaberi and Ouallam, Niger. From 2001-2004, she served as a Community Health and AIDS Prevention volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa.

Ms. Palmer earned a bachelor's degree in French and Religion from Cornell College. She plans to pursue a master's degree in public health starting in the Fall 2010 semester.

 

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