Center for
Global Health

Scholar

Languages: English(native), Chinese (proficient)

BIO STATEMENT

Dr. Chan is a pediatrician and epidemiologist, with expertise in maternal and child health. Her work focuses on the development of health and disease over the life course, using research to discover and implement sustainable clinical and public health interventions.
As a perinatal and pediatric epidemiologist, Dr. Chan has led international collaborations with the World Health Organization and Save the Children. She has trained healthcare workers, researchers, and policymakers in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia; and mentored many talented students and fellows.

Recent Global Health Projects

Infections in pregnancy and newborns, antimicrobial resistance. Neonatal infections account for nearly a quarter of the world’s 2.4 million annual neonatal deaths. In a large longitudinal cohort of 29,000 mother-newborn pairs in Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, we investigated the etiologies of neonatal sepsis and AMR patterns. Results demonstrated that over 90% of neonatal sepsis isolates were resistant to first-line antibiotics ampicillin and gentamicin. Our results have been incorporated into the WHO recommendations for neonatal sepsis treatment, influenced local strategies to reduce AMR by focusing on infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship, and advanced research development focused on the prevention of neonatal sepsis.

Development and testing of interventions to improve maternal and child health outcomes. A significant proportion of the 5 million under-five deaths and 2.4 million neonatal deaths that occur each year could be prevented with known cost-effective interventions, particularly by increasing the survival of preterm newborns. We conducted an adaptive intervention trial which achieved 80% coverage of KMC in seven sites in Ethiopia and India, total population of 10 million. These findings have influenced the recent global WHO guidelines on the care of preterm and low birth weight infants and national policies at ministries of health in Ethiopia and India to promote the two primary components of kangaroo mother care: breastfeeding and skin-to-skin care. Our work has led to a national scale-up of a package of neonatal interventions in Ethiopia by the Ministry of Health.

Select Publications

Bekele D, Hunegnaw BM, Bekele C, Van Wickle K, Tadesse F, Goddard FGB, Mohammed Y, Unninayar S, Chan GJ. Cohort profile: the Birhan Health and Demographic Surveillance System. International Journal of Epidemiology. April 2022;51(2). doi: 10.1093/ije/dyab225. PMID 34751768

Milton R, Gillespie D, Dyer C, Taiyari K, Carvalho MJ, Thomson K, Sands K, Portal EAR, Hood K, Ferreira A, Hender T, Kirby N, Mathias J, Nieto M, Watkins WJ, Bekele D, Abayneh M, Solomon S, Basu S, Nandy RK, Saha B, Iregbu K, Modibbo F, Uwaezuoke S, Zahra R, Shirazi H, Najeeb S, Mazarati JB, Rucogoza A, Gaju L, Mehtar S, Bulabula ANH, Whitelaw A, Walsh TR, BARNARDS Group, Chan GJ. Neonatal sepsis and mortality in low- and middle-income countries from a facility-based birth cohort: an international multi-site prospective observational study. Lancet Global Health. May 2022;10(5):e661-e672. doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(22)00043-2. PMID 35427523 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00043-2/fulltext

Chan GJ, Goddard FGB, Hunegnaw BM, Mohammed Y, Hunegnaw M, Haneuse S, Bekele C, Bekele D.
Estimates of stillbirths, neonatal mortality, and vulnerable live births in Amhara, Ethiopia. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(6):e2218534. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.18534

Carvalho MJ, Sands K, Thomson K, Portal E, Mathias J, Milton R, Gillespie D, Dyer C, Akpulu C, Boostrom I, Hogan P, Saif H, Ferreira A, Nieto M, Hender T, Hood K, Andrews R, Watkins JW, Hassan B, Chan G, Bekele D, Solomon S, Metaferia G, Basu S, Naha S, Sinha A, Chakravorty P, Mukherjee S, Iregbu K, Modibbo F, Uwaezuoke S, Audu L, Edwin CP, Yusuf AH, Adeleye A, Mukkadas AS, Zahra R, Shirazi H, Muhammad A, Ullah S, Jan MH, Akif S, Mazarati JB, Rucogoza A, Gaju L, Mehtar S, Bulabula ANH, Whitelaw A, Roberts L, BARNARDS Group, Walsh TR. Antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiota of mothers and linked neonates with or without sepsis from low- and middle-income countries. Nature Microbiology 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41564-022-01184-y

Estifanos AS, Haile Mariam D, Fikre A, Kote M, Tariku A, Chan GJ. Implementation science to design, test and scale up effective Kangaroo Mother Care in Oromia region, Ethiopia. Acta Paediatr. Aug 2023;112 Suppl 473:56-64. doi:10.1111/apa.16413

Alemu K, Taddesse L, Pons-Duran C, Hunegnaw BM, Fite RO, Bekele A, Goddard FG, Nigussie AK, Berhan Y, Bekele D, Getachew T, Abate E, Tollera G, Chan GJ. Building capacity for maternal, newborn and child health research in low-income country settings: a research fellowship experience in Ethiopia. J Glob Health. 2024 Nov 29;14:04198. doi: 10.7189/jogh.14.04198.

Last Updated: 26 February 2025