Robert A. Malkin is an
engineer specializing in medical instrumentation for the developing world.
At Duke, Malkin is an Emeritus professor of the practice of
Biomedical Engineering, professor of the practice of global health, and an affiliate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society.
He is best known for his work concerning medical equipment design for the developing world, for which he was named among ''Today's Engineering Heroes'' by
IEEE in 2015.
Pratt Pouch
Among his work, the best-known technology is the "Pratt Pouch," a ketchup packet-like envelope containing antiretroviral drugs. The pouch is credited with saving thousands of lives in
South America and
Africa.
Named for Duke's
Pratt School of Engineering, the pouch was developed by Malkin in collaboration with Duke undergraduate engineering students. In 2012, the
World Health Organization placed the pouch on its Top 10 Most Innovative Health Technologies list.
Organizations Founded
Malkin founded
Engineering World Health
Engineering World Health (EWH) is a non-profit organization that works with hospitals and clinics that serve resource-poor communities of the developing world. EWH's focus is on the repair and maintenance of medical equipment - rather than donatio ...
, a nonprofit which delivers technical expertise and medical equipment to the developing world. He also founde
The Global Public Service Academiesan organization that places high school students in developing world clinics and hospitals. He also founde
The International Research Institute of North Carolinaan organization that places high school students in university laboratories.
Working at Duke, Malkin helped launch several efforts for making and distributing medical devices for the developing world including a
bili light
A bili light is a light therapy tool to treat newborn jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia). High levels of bilirubin can cause brain damage (kernicterus), leading to cerebral palsy, auditory neuropathy, gaze abnormalities and dental enamel hypoplasia. T ...
company calle
PhotoGenesis Medicaland a
colposcope project a
Family Health Ministries
Early Years and Education
Born in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Malkin earned a master's and a PhD in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
and two bachelor's from
The University of Michigan.
Malkin is a fellow of the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and an expert advisor to
WHO committees on health care technology.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malkin, Robert
Duke University faculty
Living people
University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni
Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Cleveland
Duke University Pratt School of Engineering alumni