IU's Michael Davis embodies spirit of cooperation

Dear Colleagues,

Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of facing a challenge with a united front.

At IU School of Medicine, we are united by our core values of EXCELLENCE, RESPECT, INTEGRITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, AND COOPERATION, which have been invaluable to us in navigating challenging times. During COVID-19, many have looked to the health experts here at IU School of Medicine for help—and that call has been answered by countless colleagues.

One of those colleagues is Michael D. Davis, PhD, RRT, whose work with the Republic of Liberia embodies the core value of COOPERATION.

Dr. Davis, an assistant research professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine, was playing disc golf one afternoon in early June 2021, when he received a phone call from Liberia’s Minister of Health. The West African nation was in the throes of a COVID-19 surge, and they were calling on Dr. Davis to help lead a response.

In less than a week, he was flying back to a country where, through the years, he has helped build a respiratory care infrastructure in a health system left ravaged by civil war. In 2012, when Dr. Davis helped to found the Liberia Respiratory Care Institute, there was one respiratory therapist in the entire nation. To date, the institute has trained 28 new respiratory therapists, and the program has inspired a similar effort in neighboring Sierra Leone.

Because of that dedication to cooperation, Dr. Davis was a trusted resource when his expertise was needed the most. He landed in Liberia as the Delta variant was sweeping the nation and quickly got to work—training COVID unit workers, acquiring resources, and securing funding.