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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

Nothing warrants this and you know it. I cannot take it anymore. It must end. You have a voice, you owe it to these dying babies to use it.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I feel nauseated because I know in the deepest, darkest part of my heart that ready-to-use therapeutic food should not be fucking needed in Gaza.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I am served sponsored content from the World Food Program, a UN agency that I have worked with on countless occasions, asking me for money to provide ready-to-use therapeutic food to babies in Gaza.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I feel hopeless and homicidal and my thumbs tremble as I flip through the photos of innocent, starving babies on Instagram. My heart beats through my chest with rage even while I write this message.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I wake up every morning and see severe acute malnutrition inflicted by sadistic genocidal maniacs on innocent infants in Gaza. I sit on the couch with my phone in my hand and cry silently while I drink my coffee.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I cannot explain to you how palpable and contagious the joy is when a group of dedicated nutritionists work a full day in a rehabilitation center and see that the babies are getting better, and we go home knowing that they will make it.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

Her baby is gaining weight. Her baby is becoming more active. Her baby is smiling again.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I cannot tell you how bright a mother’s eyes become when she realizes her baby will survive this deadly condition, because she got her hands on ready-to-use therapeutic food, she gives it to her baby religiously, and it’s working.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

I have been so blessed to train with and work alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of inspiring individuals (physicians, midwives, nurses, nutritionists). I have learned so much and seen so much. I cannot explain in words what it feels like to see a child recover from severe acute malnutrition.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Jul 24

Severe acute malnutrition, the technical term for child starvation, is the most horrifying thing you could possibly imagine. I promise you that. I have spent my entire career combating it.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 17

Should you return home after earning your PhD abroad? This Nature article explores the dilemmas faced by international researchers considering a move back to their home countries. A thought-provoking read for anyone navigating global academic careers.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Should I return to my home country after my PhD abroad?

A graduate student from southeast Asia, now based in a European country and missing her homeland, agonizes over her next career move.

www.nature.com

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Huge congratulations to Dr. Cheick Ouattara, our brilliant study coordinator, for leading this important paper with dedication and care from the field! 🥰

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@carllachat.bsky.social
@gilescook.bsky.social
@lhuybreg.bsky.social
@kokebhaddis.bsky.social
@laeticiacelinetoe.bsky.social

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Accurate gestational age isn’t just a number, it’s the foundation for monitoring pregnancy risk, ensuring appropriate newborn care, and implementing life-saving interventions.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Our findings highlight a critical need: to improve access to obstetric #ultrasound in #BurkinaFaso and to train clinicians in accurate gestational age assessment, especially in the second and third trimesters.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

The problem? These methods don’t agree with each other. Like at all.

Compared to ultrasound-based methods, these techniques overestimate the prevalence of #prematurity. This explains the inflated rates reported in routine data, and why we weren’t seeing #preterm births in our cohort.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Here’s what we found: most women in #BurkinaFaso don’t have access to #ultrasound during #pregnancy. Instead, gestational age is estimated using traditional methods—last menstrual period (#LMP), symphysis-fundal height (#SFH), and others.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

So, we dug deeper, launching a mixed-methods investigation (#qualitative and #quantitative analysis) into how gestational age is assessed in #BurkinaFaso’s public health system. This led to two papers, the first of which (quantitative) has just been published.

doi.org/10.3390/jcm1...

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doi.org

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

But the question remained: Why such a massive discrepancy between our data and the statistics from health centers in Bobo-Dioulasso?

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

This broader operational definition, based on low birth weight (#LBW), small-for-gestational age (#SGA), and/or preterm birth (#PTB), had just been proposed in a timely series by The Lancet on Small Vulnerable Newborns.

We adapted. The study was saved 😅

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#smallVulnerableNewborns

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

To keep the study afloat, we expanded our inclusion criteria from “#preterm vs. full-term” to “small vulnerable newborns vs. healthy community controls.”

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#smallVulnerableNewborns

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Throughout the first 6 months of implementation, only four #preterm births were recorded in our cohort. That’s right, four, compared to the 48 we had projected.

Naturally, we panicked 😨

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Based on routine preterm prevalence data from our study sites in urban #BurkinaFaso, we estimated we’d reach our target sample size (50 #preterm and 50 full-term newborns) within roughly six months, expecting 8–12 preterm births per month.

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Apr 14

Welcome to storytime (with AI illustrations) 📖🥰

In 2022, our team launched the #DenBalo study, the goal of which is to use #multiomics to uncover the biological underpinnings of vulnerability in #preterm newborns compared to full-term counterparts.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-exp...

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We Expected 48 Preterm Births in 6 months. We Found 4. Here’s What That Taught Us

In 2022, our team launched the DenBalo Study: Description and Comparison of Biological Vulnerability in Pre- versus Full-Term Newborns in Urban Burkina Faso.¹ The goal of this study is to use multi-om...

www.linkedin.com

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Mar 25

@mattolm.bsky.social @carllachat.bsky.social @gilescook.bsky.social @lhuybreg.bsky.social

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Trenton Dailey-Chwalibóg @trenton.phd · Mar 25

This work strengthens the case for #microbiome directed interventions like #BEP to improve the health of moms and babies across the globe. Please read it, share it widely, and keep your eyes peeled for more from us soon 👀 #Misame3 #BioSpé

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