The Rising Leaders in Global Health Award recognizes outstanding faculty and staff within the IGHS community who demonstrate emerging leadership, meaningful contributions to global health, and a commitment to advancing the mission and values of the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS).
This year, it was awarded to John Rose, MD, MPH, and Nichole Starr, MD, MPH.
John Rose
John Rose, MD, MPH, is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who cares for patients with cancer. In research, Rose focuses on the performance of health care systems for patients having surgery. Taking a broad view of health services, he studies the effects of hospital protocols, the dissemination of new technologies, and health care policy on patient care.
This award acknowledges Rose’s longstanding leadership in global surgical policy and health systems research, from his influential work with the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery to establishing measures of global surgical need, access, and outcomes. Rose has a sustained partnership with Mozambique’s Ministry of Health and contributes to strengthening surgical systems, including national surgical metrics, integration of surgical indicators into the country’s DHIS-2 platform, and development of Mozambique’s national surgical plan.
The award also recognizes his ability to translate health systems data into meaningful policy and action, including maintaining a global repository of national surgical indicators, collaborating with the World Bank, and contributing to updated international consensus metrics for surgical care. He is dedicated to mentorship and capacity building, supporting UCSF trainees, early-career researchers, and surgical leaders in Mozambique and beyond.
Rose is a leader in advancing cross-disciplinary global health collaborations spanning global surgery, health economics, transplantation, policy, and public health metrics.
Nichole Starr
Nichole Starr, MD, MPH, is a trauma and critical care surgeon dedicated to advancing equitable surgical and trauma care globally through innovation, quality improvement, and sustainable partnerships. Her research spans infection prevention, trauma systems strengthening, and perioperative safety, with a particular focus on Ethiopia and other low-income environments.
This award acknowledges Starr’s sustained commitment to equitable global surgery and locally led capacity strengthening, particularly through nearly two decades of engagement in Ethiopia. IGHS also recognizes Starr’s leadership in implementing and expanding Clean Cut, a surgical infection prevention program that reduced infections by 35% and has grown from its initial implementation in Ethiopia to hospitals across multiple countries.
Her innovative response to critical health system needs, including the development of a low-cost UV-C cabinet during the COVID-19 pandemic, supported safe N95 reuse in hospitals across seven low-income countries. Starr demonstrated her leadership through trauma systems strengthening in Ethiopia, including establishing trauma registries and quality improvement committees, and contributing to the development of a national trauma systems roadmap. Starr is dedicated to mentorship, equitable partnership, and bidirectional global health practice.
The award celebrates individuals who are making an impact through their work, collaboration, innovation, service, or leadership and who show strong potential to continue advancing the field of global health. Congratulations to this year’s awardees!