The study gets real

In further explanation of the post title... we got Ethical Review Committee approval yesterday! (This is the last approval required before a study can actually run.) Apparently, this is the first time my supervisor (and the study PI) has ever seen an ERC application come back with no comments. Slam, DUNK. I got the great news while out at Mirpur being shown around study clinics from the Mother's Gift study by one of the study's field research assistants, Shopra. Shopra has been with the pneumonia studies since 2004, and knows each of the families enrolled; she's going to work on the hearing study, too, continuing our personal connection with the subjects. Here in BD, that personal connection with study families is essential.

Best part of the day... meeting Leema! She and her mother were enrolled in the original pneumonia vaccine study; Leema's now 7 years old and will likely participate in our new hearing study! Luckily, Shopra whipped out her camera and insisted on taking a picture of us, so I could do likewise. Otherwise, it's awkward here going out to a study site, invading people's homes, and saying, oh, by the way, could I stick a camera in your face, too? :) Also, here you can see my favorite salwar kameez. Little girls typically don't wear the three-piece or sharee until they're older than Leema.











Today's my last day at ICDDR,B, and I head home to Atlanta tomorrow! That's almost starting to feel real, but would feel more so if I actually started packing. I hear my Emirates flight taking off at 9:30 p.m. every night, and while I'm looking forward to being back to do more work here over the winter, I'm so excited to come back home!