University of California Global Health Institute Program for Fellows and Scholars (UCGHI-PFS)

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Investigator: Craig Cohen, MD, MPH
Sponsor: NIH John F. Fogarty International Center

Location(s): Burundi; Kenya; Mozambique; Rwanda; Central African Republic; Benin; Burkina Faso; Gambia; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Niger; Sierra Leone; Kyrgyzstan; South Korea; Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Nepal; Cambodia; Myanmar; Haiti

Description

In response to RFA-TW-11-001, 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 consisting of 21 collaborating international institutions across 14 countries and 5 continents proposes the creation of the UCGHI Program for Fellows and Scholars (UCGHI-PFS). Our specific aims are: 1) To recruit a diverse group of trainees who are diverse in discipline and ethnicity, and who aspire to build successful academic research careers in global health focusing on interdisciplinary research; 2) To provide outstanding, interdisciplinary education and training in global health in collaboration with 230 faculty mentors from the Program, and 21 collaborating well established international institutions; 3) To provide each trainee with a rich and enduring mentored research experience that fosters scientific and career development in global health research; 4) To develop models of interdisciplinary, innovative global health research and training designed to improve health for populations around the world; and 5) To broaden and expand the global health faculty across the four UC campuses, UCGHI and international partner institutions, and strengthen existing global health networks between UCGHI and collaborating international institutions. UCGHI-PFS will recruit candidates from a pipeline of 57 T32 programs, representing 12 of the 15 NIH institutes participating in this RFA. In addition to these programs which annually support 160 predoctoral and 208 postdoctoral fellows, 20% of whom are under-represented minorities, we will recruit international trainees from 8 D43 training grants across all four campuses, affiliated schools and international partner institutions. For each trainee, 4 principal components include: i) an 11-month, hands-on research project on-site with one of our international collaborative partners; ii) a strong, interdisciplinary mentored research experience; iii) instruction in global health and related topics provided through on-site, and on-line courses; and iv) career development to help ensure that trainees attain their short-term career goals and succeed in transitioning to the next career stage. These four components are closely interlinked; a Leadership Group and campus Steering Committees will ensure they form a seamless, integrated program. Innovative aspects include a unified consortium that offers synergy by capitalizing upon the UCGHI's ten campuses, Centers of Expertise and faculty that regularly interact and collaborate; faculty mentors offering training across diverse disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, veterinary science, oceanography, agriculture, and biological and social sciences); training experiences on a wide range of diseases and problems of global health significance; an ability to leverage common resources across the four participating UC campuses (e.g., UCGHI, CTSAs, CFARs and Research eXchange consortia); and an innovative mentoring initiative.

This UC Global Health Institute Program for Fellows and Scholars (UCGHI-PFS) will train pre-doctoral scholars and post-doctoral fellows from UC San Francisco, UC San Diego, UC Los Angeles, UC Davis and 21 international collaborating institutions from low- and middle-income countries in a wide range of pressing and emerging global health issues. This program will be highly relevant as it will engage trainees in an intensive 11-month project conducted at an international site. The program will produce multidisciplinary global health leaders and strengthen the network of research and training across UC campuses and its international partnering institutions.