University of California Global Health Institute Program for Fellows and Scholars
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Investigator: Craig Cohen, MD, MPH
Sponsor: NIH John F. Fogarty International Center
Location(s): Kenya; Malawi; Tanzania; Zimbabwe; Congo (Kinshasa); Botswana; South Africa; Ghana; Bangladesh; India; Peru
Description
The University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI), including UC San Francisco (UCSF), UC San Diego (UCSD), UC Los Angeles (UCLA) and UC Davis (UCD), along with a network of 20 collaborating international institutions proposes to continue their successful UCGHI GloCal Health Fellowship (GloCal). Our international sites are well-established, work in regions with some of the highest burden of disease, and stand to benefit from our program's capacity building, mentorship training and alumni support. GloCal is the only UC-wide global health training program, and our track record shows that we:
1) Recruit pre- and postdoctoral trainees diverse in discipline and ethnicity who aspire to build interdisciplinary academic research careers in global health;
2) Provide outstanding, interdisciplinary education and training in global health in collaboration with over 160 faculty mentors from participating UC campuses and 20 collaborating international institutions; and
3) Provide each trainee with a rich and enduring mentored research experience that fosters scientific and career development in global health. The program also advances long- term objectives to:
1) Develop models of interdisciplinary, innovative global health research and training designed to improve health for populations around the world;
2) Broaden and expand the global health faculty across the four UC campuses and international partner institutions; and
3) Strengthen global health networks. GloCal recruits candidates from a pipeline of 46 T32 and 14 D43 programs, supported by 12 of the 20 NIH Institutes.
GloCal trainees are at different career stages, but all receive:
1) A 12-month, hands-on research experience on-site with one of our international partners;
2) A strong, interdisciplinary mentored research experience;
3) Instruction in global health and related topics through on-site and online courses; and
4) Career development to ensure that they attain their short-term goals and succeed in transitioning to the next career stage.
GloCal leadership and standing committees ensure that these four program components form a seamless, integrated experience supported by evaluation and continuous improvement. Innovations of the program include:
1) A unified consortium under UCGHI that includes four UCs at the leading edge of global health
2) Recruitment of diverse trainees across UC and the UCLA Charles Drew University partnership;
3) Faculty that regularly interact and collaborate on interdisciplinary research;
4) Mentors offering training in diverse disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, veterinary science, agriculture, environmental and social sciences);
5) Training experiences on a wide range of significant global health issues including HIV, women's health, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, neurological disease, and planetary health;
6) Leveraging common resources across the four participating UC campuses (UCGHI, CTSAs and CFARs); and
7) A mentor training program that helps to build a culture of mentorship at international partner sites.
UCGHI is committed to supporting the success of GloCal, as evidenced by their pledge of $600,000 in co-funding