News
2009
For potential fellows who might like to have a paid experience doing clinical research in low- or middle-income countries for a year
The Fogarty International Center is pleased to announce the International Clinical Research Fellows (ICRF) Program that is managed through a grant to the Vanderbilt University Institute for Global Health (VIGH). This one-year clinical research training program for post-residency clinical fellowships, in other health-related post-doctoral programs, and individuals within three years of their last major degree training gives these young researchers an opportunity to do a research program in a low- or middle-income country of their choosing. People in residency programs are also eligible with the permission of their residency director. This program is also open to foreign post-doctoral trainees and, because international applicants may not have U.S.-style fellowships or post-doctoral programs, they may apply if they are within three years of completing their training (e.g., registrar, residency, fellowship, doctoral program). The program is designed for persons from low, lower middle, and upper middle income countries (as listed by the World Bank at http://go.worldbank.org/K2CKM78CC0) or for citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. For more information, including electronic application forms, please visit the website http://www.fogartyscholars.org/fellows/.
UCSF Launches Website and Database to Support International Research
International work is central to the UCSF mission of ’Advancing Health Worldwide.‘ To support international projects at UCSF, GHS and CTSI have collaborated with UCSF faculty and central administration to establish a Global Research Enterprise Support (G-RES) team whose objective is to facilitate and enable international projects at UCSF. The G-RES web site provides links and information on a broad spectrum of topics which are essential to preparing and administering international grants and projects. G-RES also helps researchers with such problems as finding local expertise in other countries, mediating human subjects standards agreements, and what to do if UCSF personnel traveling or working in a foreign country need emergency evacuation. International researchers often ask who else at UCSF is working internationally. To respond to this need GHS and CTSI have also collaborated to create a searchable database of UCSF international activities, grants and collaborations. Openly accessible, the database serves as a resource for identifying colleagues and expertise, and is searchable by location, research activity, discipline and funding source.
Aga Khan University and UCSF Form Partnership to Help Underprivileged
UCSF and the Aga Khan University signed a memorandum of understanding to advance their common goal to promote equitable human advancement and social justice in the less privileged parts of the world. The agreement was signed at the Capitol Building in Sacramento by Haile T. Debas, MD, executive director of Global Health Sciences at UCSF, and AKU President Firoz Rasul, in the presence of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and founder and chancellor of AKU. See news release at UCSF Today.
UC Global Health Institute Launched
The UC Global Health Institute was officially launched on November 9, 2009 at a forum held at UCSF about the importance of global health to California (archived webcast will be available for viewing after November 13). The UCGHI also released a report on global health’s impact on California. The report, which included a letter of endorsement from Governor Schwarzenegger, found that global health represents more than a $75 billion impact on the California economy.
UCSF Global Health Group Contributes to the Gates Foundation Living Proof Project
On October 27, 2009 Bill and Melinda Gates delivered a presentation in Washington DC, entitled “Living Proof: Why We are Impatient Optimists,” showcasing progress being made in global health in saving, improving and empowering millions of lives thanks to investments made by the U.S. government and its partners around the world. The speech officially launched the Living Proof Project (LPP), a major global health communications and advocacy campaign, spearheaded by the Gates Foundation to sustain U.S. investments in global health. The UCSF Global Health Group and colleagues produced a set of “Progress Sheets” summarizing evidence of progress on eight diseases and priorities, which appear on the LPP website as supporting campaign materials. Several members of GHS and OBGYN also contributed to the sheets. View the speech and read the progress sheets at the BMGF/Living Proof Project website.
Sir Richard Feachem Presents at the Nestlé International Nutrition Symposium
On October 22, Sir Richard Feachem presented “Eating More AND Less: Positioning Nutrition Among Our 21st Century Global Health Challenges” at the sixth annual Nestlé International Nutrition Symposium - highlighting the parallel challenges posed by the current pandemic of under-nutrition and the juxtaposed pandemic of over-nutrition. For more information about the symposium and to view the presentation, visit the Nestlé site.
The Global Health Group Hosts Bellagio Workshops on Private Healthcare Provision
In September the Global Health Group (GHG) was invited to host two workshops on private healthcare provision in developing countries at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Conference Center in Italy. The first workshop sought to determine best practices to improve social franchise service delivery in developing countries and included international health agencies, donors and social franchise program managers from around the world. The second workshop linked Ministers of Health and other high-level global health leaders with leading global health researchers to discuss how better organization of private healthcare markets in Ghana and Vietnam might improve equity and access to quality medical care. These workshops contributed to the GHG’s continued work to foster a “community of practice” around leveraging the private sector for health systems strengthening. For more information, including original publications on the private sector, visit GHS/GHG/health systems.
Sir Richard Feachem Presents at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Aspen Health Forum
In October Sir Richard Feachem presented at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, outlining salient global health priorities for the 21st century and the necessary elements to successfully address this agenda. For more information and to view the presentation, visit the CSIS website.
While in Washington, he also participated in a panel discussion titled “Aspen Health Forum Highlights” which underscored key discussions from this past summer’s Aspen Health Forum which convened more than 100 opinion leaders around various US health care reform topics.
Health Reform in an Era of Pandemics: Towards Comprehensive Health Security
On September 30, Dr. Debas moderated a program hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California featuring Julio Frenk, Dean, Harvard University School of Public Health; former Minister of Health, Mexico; former Executive Director for Policy, World Health Organization. Check the Commonwealth Club broadcast schedule for dates to hear the talk.
MUHAS-UCSF ALP Inter-professional Faculty Workshop on Team-based Learning
On September 24, Global Health Sciences, through the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS)-UCSF Academic Learning Project (ALP), joined forces with the UCSF School of Medicine, Office of Medical Education and Office of Student and Academic Affairs to sponsor an inter-professional faculty workshop on Team-Based Learning (TBL). With about 70 participants from UCSF’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and graduate studies, the workshop promoted cross-school collaboration and educational innovation, one of the aims of the MUHAS-UCSF partnership at both UCSF and MUHAS. The workshop was organized to coincide with the visit to UCSF of Dr. Ephata Kaaya (the MUHAS-UCSF project co-PI and Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development at MUHAS) and Dr. Eligius Lyamuya (MUHAS Director of Research and Publications) who participated in the workshop. Dr. Selma Omer (MUHAS-UCSF ALP Basic Sciences Academic Coordinator) organized the event and invited Dr. Edward McKee (Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Indiana University School of Medicine - South Bend) to facilitate the successful workshop. Dr. McKee has used TBL in teaching medical biochemistry and molecular biology for the past three years. During the workshop he spoke about the basics and benefits of TBL as a teaching strategy and then divided participants into small teams of five or six people, who actively took part in a complete TBL exercise. Participants from UCSF’s schools have begun to strategize about ways to incorporate TBL into teaching large classes here. MUHAS will be piloting TBL this semester during undergraduate biochemistry classes facilitated by visiting UCSF postdoctoral scholars Dr. Courtney Crane and Dr. Monique Dail, as part of the MUHAS-UCSF ALP. To learn more about the MUHAS-UCSF ALP and project activities please see GHS/programs.
Second Cohort of Students Begins GHS Masters Degree Program
September 17, 2009 marked the first day for the second class of Masters students in Global Health Sciences. Eighteen students from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests convened to meet their classmates and faculty and learn about the new courses and curriculum that have evolved from the inaugural class, which graduated in July 2009. The new self-supporting MS degree at UCSF is the first in the US. Student biographies can be viewed at the GHS website.
GHS is now accepting applications for the 2011 Masters class. For more program information and how to apply online, please see our GHS/education website.
First Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)
Earlier this week, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) brought together 300 people from over 60 universities for its first annual meeting, held at the NIH in Bethesda, MD. Attendees heard from the Director of the NIH, the White House Advisor on Health, and the State Department’s Senior Ambassador for HIV/AIDS programs, among other distinguished speakers. Each one had positive things to say about the role for universities in the Federal Government’s global health mission and predicted the role would expand. This meeting was a notable accomplishment and these three days in Washington helped accelerate the academic global health movement and set the stage for a number of exciting and challenging events to follow in the coming weeks and months. UCSF’s Global Health Sciences is recognized as a strong leader in the movement and the foundation for the CUGH, with Haile Debas serving as the founding chair of the consortium.