Congratulations to the recipients of the Spring 2026 UCSF Resource Allocation Program (RAP) pilot awards funded by the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS). IGHS is pleased to support four outstanding investigators whose research addresses critical global health challenges, including congenital infections, trauma care, sexual and reproductive health, and pediatric tuberculosis.
The awardees represent UCSF Medicine, Nursing, and interdisciplinary global health research programs, with projects focused on advancing equitable, evidence-based solutions in Uganda and beyond. Several awards were co-funded through partnerships with UCSF centers and programs, reflecting the collaborative commitment to strengthening global health research and innovation.
Amy Davis, MD, PhD
Fully funded by IGHS
Davis is a physician-scientist in the Department of Medicine whose research focuses on maternal-fetal infectious diseases and immune responses during pregnancy. Her award-winning project, Maternal Immune Correlates of Protection Against Congenital Cytomegalovirus Transmission, addresses one of the leading infectious causes of birth-related disability worldwide.
Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common infection during pregnancy globally and can result in severe outcomes including hearing loss, developmental delays, seizures, and stillbirth. Although preexisting maternal immunity reduces the risk of congenital CMV transmission, most congenital infections occur in women who were infected before pregnancy. This challenge is particularly significant in low-income settings, where nearly all women acquire CMV during childhood and rates of congenital infection remain disproportionately high.
Using a well-characterized cohort of mothers and children in Uganda, Davis will investigate both adaptive and innate maternal immune responses associated with protection against CMV transmission. Her research aims to identify immune correlates of protection and generate critical insights needed to inform the development of vaccines and prevention strategies capable of reducing congenital CMV worldwide.
Rachel Koch, MD
Co-funded by IGHS and the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA)
Koch is a surgeon and global health researcher in the Department of Medicine whose work focuses on improving trauma care systems in low-resource settings. Her project, Scaling up Life-Saving Surgical Care: Transforming Care of Injured Patients in East Africa through Workforce Education, Partnerships, and Local System Development, seeks to strengthen trauma care capacity in Uganda.
Globally, millions of trauma-related deaths are considered preventable with improved systems of care, yet formal trauma education remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries. Building on successful partnerships in Uganda, Koch and collaborators have developed locally adapted trauma training programs that have demonstrated strong learner engagement and knowledge gains.
This project will evaluate strategies to make these programs more sustainable and scalable, including testing a hybrid trauma training model and assessing the feasibility of expanding operative trauma education through locally available resources. By strengthening frontline provider training, the project has the potential to improve trauma care delivery and reduce injury-related mortality across Uganda.
Lila Sheira, PhD
Co-funded by IGHS and the UCSF Academic Senate
Sheira is a researcher in the UCSF School of Nursing whose work centers on implementation science, HIV prevention, and improving access to sexual and reproductive healthcare for adolescents and young adults. Her project, Building a Full-Spectrum Sexual Health Service Model: Feasibility of Pharmacy-Based STI Testing for Ugandan Adolescent Girls and Young Women, explores innovative approaches to expanding sexually transmitted infection (STI) services in community settings.
Adolescent girls and young women in Uganda experience disproportionately high rates of STIs while facing significant barriers to testing and treatment. Building upon an ongoing study of pharmacy-based HIV prevention services, Sheira’s research will evaluate whether pharmacies can effectively provide point-of-care STI testing, including HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and Trichomonas vaginalis screening.
Working closely with partners in Uganda and community advisory boards, the study will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and scalability of pharmacy-based STI testing programs. Findings will help inform more accessible, youth-friendly models of integrated sexual and reproductive healthcare and position pharmacies as important community-based hubs for prevention and treatment services.
Mark Warden, PhD
Co-funded by the Center for Tuberculosis (CTB)
Warden is an investigator focused on tuberculosis research and biomarker development. His project, The RS Ratio as a Novel Treatment Response Biomarker in Pediatric Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Kampala, Uganda, aims to improve how treatment response is measured in children with tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious causes of death among children worldwide, yet pediatric TB research has lagged behind adult studies due to challenges in diagnosis and monitoring treatment effectiveness. Current clinical trial endpoints often rely on sputum-based testing methods that are difficult to use in children.
Warden’s study will evaluate the RS ratio, a novel RNA-based biomarker that measures Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity and may provide a more sensitive way to assess treatment response. Using samples collected from children with pulmonary TB in Kampala, Uganda, the project will examine whether the RS ratio can be measured using both sputum and noninvasive tongue swab samples. The findings will provide foundational data for future pediatric TB trials and could help accelerate the development of more effective treatments for children worldwide.
IGHS congratulates these award recipients and looks forward to following the impact of their research as they advance innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global health challenges. Their work exemplifies the collaborative, equity-centered approach that drives UCSF’s global health mission.