The staff of the EWH-Duke Summer Institute has accumulated a depth of knowledge about health care technology through years of experience in working with hospitals in developing nations. We are committed to meeting the the technology needs of our partner hospitals in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Tanzania, and to providing an unparalleled experience for the students in our program.

Robert A. Malkin, Director, Ph.D., P.E.

A co-founder of EWH, Bob is now Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, North Carolina. Bob also directs the EWH-Duke Summer Institute Program. Previously, Dr. Malkin was the Herbert Herff Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The Joint Biomedical Program at the University of Memphis, Tennessee and The University of Tennessee. Before moving to Tennessee, Dr. Malkin was a professor of Electrical Engineering at The City College of New York and a member of the graduate faculty at The City University of New York and a research associate at Columbia University. Dr. Malkin received his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Duke University in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Prior to attending graduate school, Dr. Malkin taught English in Thailand, worked at EM Microelectronics in Switzerland designing integrated circuits, worked for Cordis Corporation designing pacemakers and worked for Sarns Incorporated designing heart lung machines. Dr Malkin received the BS degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Michigan in 1984. Dr. Malkin is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Malkin serves as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization’s Advisory Group on Healthcare Technology, Advisory Group on Innovative Technologies and serves on the World Health Organization’s subcommittee on medical equipment donations.

Michelle Garst, Assistant Director, B.S.

Michelle graduated from Texas A&M University in December of 2005 with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Since then she has worked as the Volunteer Engineer for EWH and is currently the Assistant Director of the EWH-Duke Summer Institute, traveling to Tanzania, Honduras, and Nicaragua to work in developing world hospitals. Her enthusiasm to serve people in developing nations has instilled in her an experience that is unparalleled in the arena of world health.

Caroline Gamache, Technical Coordinator, B.S.

As technical coordinator for EWH-Duke, Caroline serves in various capacities. In 2009, she served as the On-The-Ground-Coordinator for the Tanzania Summer Institute.  In addition to coordinating logistics for the Summer Institutes, she participates in research projects pertaining to developing world issues, procures equipment for donation for the EWH-Duke Summer Institute community partners, and recruits for EWH-Duke.  She has a background in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and has worked in the manufacturing industry with Subaru Automotive and the consulting industry with Accenture-Chicago.

Lora Perry, Volunteer, B.S.

Lora is a former Tanzania Summer Institute partipant from 2009 who will be volunteering with EWH-Duke for the 2009/2010 school year.  She is a recent graduate of Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, where she studied Biomedical Engineering.