By THERESA PROUDFIT

Staff Writer

IRON MOUNTAIN – A collaborative effort between Iron Mountain High School graduate Lynn Mande and Esther Gondwe of Malawi earned them an award from Society of Research Administrators International.

Mande is a 1989 graduate of Iron Mountain High School, has a bachelor’s degree in political science/pre-law from Lake Superior State University and received her master’s in health/health care administration/management from Central Michigan University in 1998.

She is currently employed as a research administrator in the MSU Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties and lives in Okemos.

The SRA International has awarded Mande and Gondwe, a research administrator for the University of Malawi College of Medicine, the “Best Poster of the Year” at its symposium in San Diego.

The pair won the competition for their project titled, Challenges in International Travel: Covering Costs without a Credit Card.

It focused on how travelers can attend scientific meetings and conferences around the globe when they do not possess a credit card.

In 2014, Mande and Gondwe distributed an electronic survey to individuals associated with the University of Malawi College of Medicine after receiving approval from the Michigan State University Institutional Review Board and the Malawi National Health Sciences Research Committee.

The team received assistance to review and tabulate the results from MSU Professor Terrie Taylor and Demster Ngauma, the head of the information and communication technology department at the University of Malawi College of Medicine.

“Most of our colleagues from Malawi don’t have credit cards. Malawi is a low income country in southern Africa and cash is the primary means of payment there” said Mande.

Their research was supported by the Fogarty International Center for the National Institutes of Health.

The poster team submitted a letter of intent to the Society of Research Administrators International describing the project and the poster.

Their contribution was approved by the symposium review committee, and Mande and Gondwe were invited to present their poster at the annual meeting.

All of the approved posters were displayed at the annual meeting and each team made an oral presentation.

Based on a list of criteria, the Poster Award Panel chose the winner.

Mande and Gondwe will be invited to accept their award at the 2015 annual symposium in Las Vegas.

The pair, “Plans to revise and periodically redistribute the survey to monitor how to make travel easier for their colleagues,” said Mande.