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Now Accepting Applications for Five Fellowship and Funding Opportunities!
The Department of Global Health is excited to announce five funding opportunities for travel support and fieldwork experiences for graduate and professional students, and medical residents at the University of Washington.

These funding opportunities are administered by the Global Health Resource Center and provide assistance for costs associated with doing fieldwork outside of Seattle. Applications for each may be submitted via a Common Application and Catalyst Dropbox. Visit each fellowship page to learn more and apply now! The deadline is 11:59 p.m., Friday, February 27, 2015.
Applicants are required to use the Common Application and Catalyst Dropbox to complete their application. Students are encouraged to apply for more than one fellowship, but are only eligible to receive one award per application cycle. If a student is awarded and accepts the fellowship, they must immediately withdraw their applications to other Department of Global Health fellowships or funded programs. Fellowship recipients must meet all program deadlines and program requirements, including attendance at a mandatory pre-departure orientation on Sunday, May 3, 2015.

Common eligibility criteria:
- Graduate or professional students enrolled in a full-time University of Washington degree program.
- Medical residents enrolled in a University of Washington residency program are eligible to apply for:
  -- George Povey Social Justice and Activism in Global Health Fellowship
  -- Global Opportunities (GO) Health Fellowship
- Good academic standing.
- Not currently receiving another DGH award or fellowship for the same time period, or for the same program or fieldwork experience.
- Medical and post-doc fellows, and undergraduates are NOT eligible for any of these awards.
Please review the criteria for each of the awards to ensure that you have submitted the proper documentation to complete the process. Apply now using the Common Application. All documents must be submitted via Catalyst Dropbox by 11:59 p.m., Friday, February 27, 2015.
Collaborative Efforts in Peru Pay Off: Center Awarded First-Ever “Center of Excellence,” Receives More Than US $5.5m

Universidad Mayor de San Marcos in Lima received Peru's award for a “Center of Excellence.” The award was given to the Center for Technical, Biomedical and Environmental Research at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, along with an award of 16.7 million soles (equivalent to nearly US$5.6 million). The center is supported by the University of Washington and la Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.

United States Ambassador to Peru, Brian A. Nichols, was in attendance to acknowledge the award.

The team that applied for and won this award included Jorge Alarcon, MD, MPH, PhD, Professor at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and Affiliate Professor of Global Health at UW. Alarcon works closely with Joseph Zunt, MD, MPH, UW Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Global Health. Zunt is currently co-director of four NIH-funded research training programs in Peru that cover a variety of health-related disciplines. He has been working in Peru since 1996.

The award is from the Committee of Science, Techonology, etc. (CONCYTEC) and is the first time the Peruvian government has provided an award for developing a Center of Excellence. They will provide additional center development awards, perhaps annually, to develop new centers.

The new Center at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, "Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales” (Center for Technical, Biomedical and Environmental Research), will support interdisciplinary health-related research in Peru.

Photo courtesy of Universidad Mayor de San Marcos. Left to right: Rector of UNMSM, Dr. Pedro Cotillo; President of the Council of Ministers, Ana Jara; President of CONCYTEC, Dr. Gisella Orjeda; and U.S. ambassador, Brian A. Nichols
Center for AIDS Research Awards Support Needed Infrastructure, Pilot Grants and Global-to-Local

The University of Washington/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) International Core is delighted to announce this year’s International Pilot and Global to Local Awards. The proposals were recently reviewed by a committee, which included seven reviewers from three CFAR-affiliated institutions.

Congratulations to the awardees:

Robert de la Grecca
"Stigma, coping, mental health, and adherence to care among newly diagnosed HIV patients: a longitudinal study"
Lima, Peru

Renee Heffron
"Safer Conception among Seattle Area HIV-1 Serodiscordant Couples"
Seattle, Washington

Jennifer Slyker
"Financial Incentives to Increase Pediatric HIV testing"
Nairobi, Kenya

Additionally, the CFAR International Core is delighted to announce this year’s International Infrastructure Awards. These awards enhance clinical, laboratory, and administrative capacity and provide opportunities for new research. The proposals were recently reviewed by a committee, which included nine reviewers from three CFAR-affiliated institutions.

Congratulations to the awardees:

John Kinuthia
Colposcope and cryotherapy equipment, Discordant Couples Clinic, Kenyatta National Hospital
Nairobi, Kenya

Kenneth Sherr
Conference tables and chairs, Beira Operations Research Center, Mozambique
Beira, Mozambique

Benson Singa
Server and Air Conditioner, UW Kenya Country Offices
Nairobi, Kenya

Joseph Zunt
Polycom, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center
Bangkok, Thailand

The CFAR International Core remains committed to seeking additional funding sources, as all the applications highlighted this very important and ongoing need.

For more information on the UW/FHCRC CFAR International Core, click here.
Department of Global Health Travel Grants: 6th Annual CUGH Conference

The Department of Global Health is pleased to announce that we will provide at least six individuals with $500 grants to help support their travel, registration, and expenses to attend the 6th Annual Conference of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), “Mobilizing Research for Global Health”, March 26-28, 2015, at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA. We are currently accepting applications for these travel grants from University of Washington faculty, staff, students, and house staff.

The awards will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis to those individuals who meet the following criteria:

•         Junior faculty, full-time staff member, full-time student, or professional trainee at the University of Washington

•         Actively participating in the 6th Annual CUGH Conference by giving an oral presentation, presenting a poster, hosting a table talk OR organizing a panel discussion, lecture, poster, table talk, or other aspect of the meeting

•         Are clear that the maximum award amount is $500 and that they will be responsible for covering the remainder of their conference travel and expenses through other sources

DOWNLOAD AND SUBMIT YOUR DGH TRAVEL GRANT APPLICATION:

Completed applications should be emailed to Daren Wade, dwade@uw.edu and consist of:

1)     Completed DGH Travel Grant Application (attached)

2)     Additional support documentation, which includes a copy of a confirmation email indicating that you have been accepted to present a poster, lecture, panel presentation, or table talk at the 6th Annual CUGH Conference and a copy of your conference registration.

Deadline for the application will be Wednesday, January 14, 2015.

Applications will be reviewed by Department leadership, as they are received and will be awarded based on their compatibility with the criteria above.

REGISTER FOR THE MEETING: Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible as registration rates increase on February 1. Current University of Washington faculty, staff, and students, are eligible for the “Member” rates.

Download the application.

For questions, please email Daren Wade, Director, Global Health Resource Center, dwade@uw.edu.

For more information about the 6th Annual CUGH Conference, visit www.cugh.org

Daren Wade, MSW
Director, Global Health Resource Center
Department of Global Health
University of Washington
Research and Action Needed for Adolescent Health
Assoc. Prof. Donna Denno contributed to this Special Supplement in the Journal of Adolescent Health, and her December 18 Op-ed in the Seattle Times further highlights the issue of adolesent health. From the WHO website:

GENEVA 18 December 2014 - There is growing recognition of the importance of addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents and young people. According to a WHO-led Special Supplement in the Journal of Adolescent Health – published online today – which marks the twentieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, efforts must be intensified to ensure that the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents (10-19 years) and young people (10-24 years) are met and their rights fulfilled.
From the World Health Organization website.
I-TECH Staffer Volunteers in Ebola Isolation Unit in Sierra Leone, Blogs About Her Experience

Jeri Sumitani, a staff member of UW's International Training & Education Center for Health (I-TECH), is a U.S.-trained physician assistant who volunteered to help with the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. She is chronicling her experiences during her six-week stay in Sierra Leone on WebMD's Health News blog. Read about her experiences here.
Q & A with Julia Bunting of International Planned Parenthood Federation

Julia Bunting, Global Director of the Programmes and Technical at The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), London will be at the University of Washington Dec. 8 as part of the 5th Annual Maternal Health Lecture Series in Honor of Beth Peterman sponsored by the Global Center for Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children (Global WACh), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Washington Global Health Alliance Discovery Series. Bunting has more than 24 years of experience working on maternal and reproductive health globally.

Here is a Q&A with her:

Your lecture is titled "Lifecycles – a Perspective on Reproductive & Maternal Health." Can you give us a sneak peak into the perspective you plan to discuss at your lecture?

JB: I will cover a number of lifecycles, including my own, from how I became interested in reproductive health at the tender age of 16. I’ll also will also look at patterns and trends in our field over the last 25 years.

You’ve been working in reproductive health for some time. How do you stay motivated?

JB: We are making progress. Lives are being saved and transformed, particularly as a result of the efforts of people working in country. I get to spend time connecting to programs when I meet with clients and colleagues in the field, and I can’t fail to be inspired. You can see the difference.

What are the most important gains you’ve seen in reproductive and maternal health?

JB: The issues are now on the agenda in a way that they haven’t really been before. Even when the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) were established, maternal health was seen as a low priority relative to others, and reproductive health wasn’t even there. We’ve seen massive changes and these issues are now front and center for many people.

What makes International Planned Parenthood Federation's work unique? What do they bring to the global health arena?

JB: IPPF is a global network of autonomous, nationally owned, civil society organizations. They are part of the communities they serve and are staffed and governed by people in those countries. If you want to make long term development gains and build sustainable futures you need to work with and for local organizations – this is not something that can be done by external agencies.

Why do you think it’s important for MPH, lab science, or data-focused students to learn about these issues?

JB: The obvious answer is that to prevent a maternal death requires not just supply-side or demand-side interventions but also an enabling environment. We need a fully functioning health system. The maternal mortality ratio is often seen as a marker for the strength of health systems. And beyond the health sector reproductive and maternal health are about issues of equity, rights, and empowerment. Anyone interested in improving health outcomes and/or equity and rights should be interested in the experiences of the reproductive and maternal health field.

How does reproductive and maternal health fit into the larger global health field?

JB: In reproductive and maternal health, we think about people. Women and young people in particular. We don’t just think about diseases. And that’s not to say that diseases or the work people do on diseases is not important. The focus of reproductive and maternal is about lifecycles and what the different opportunities and challenges that women deal with at different points in their life. Basically, it’s about how to provide services to people, as opposed to treating diseases.

How is the Ebola crisis affecting maternal health?

JB: What we’re hearing anecdotally in the field is that women in labor are afraid of hospitals, and they are also being turned away from hospitals because health care workers don’t think they can handle more patients and are particularly concerned about the risk of infection during delivery. The maternal health gains that have been made in countries affected by Ebola are at real risk.

What role does advocacy play in global health, in addition to advocating for funding?

JB: Awareness-raising – both of the issues and the magnitude of those issues. It’s important to communicate that improving reproductive and maternal health is something that we can do and indeed we are making significant progress. We can save these lives and improve health but we need to redouble our efforts.

To hear more from Julia Bunting, join us on Monday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m. in the Magnusen Health Sciences Building, Room T-435.
Electronic Medical Records Implemented at More Than 340 Sites in Kenya in Under Two Years

A shifting government structure, power outages, and even the threat of crocodiles didn’t deter the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) from implementing the electronic medical records system KenyaEMR at more than 340 clinics and district hospitals across Kenya.

One of the largest EMR rollouts in Africa, this work was supported by the U.S. Health Resources and Services administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

When PEPFAR care and treatment partners in Kenya identified lack of timely and complete patient data as a major barrier to effective HIV/AIDS patient management, I-TECH and in-country partners set out to design and develop KenyaEMR, expanding on the OpenMRS platform to build an EMR system to collect health data and improve patient care.

These efforts were first led by I-TECH Kenya’s then-Country Director, Dr. Patrick Odawo, and were assumed by his successor, Dr. Willis Akhwale, supported by dedicated teams in Nairobi and at Seattle headquarters.

Read more about the challenges along the way, implementation, and the future of EMR.
Faculty and Climate Change Expert Kristie Ebi on School of Public Health Close Up

Kristie Ebi was among the first experts in the US on global climate change and health. Today she works with developing countries to lessen the impacts of climate change on their populations. She recently joined the School of Public Health to help it address one of its key emerging challenges, global environmental change and health. Despite the doom and gloom projected by many scientific models, Ebi has a positive message about saving lives and becoming a healthier planet.

Read the interview.

Kristie Ebi was among the first experts in the US on global climate change and health. Today she works with developing countries to lessen the impacts of climate change on their populations. She recently joined the School of Public Health to help it address one of its key emerging challenges, global environmental change and health. Despite the doom and gloom projected by many scientific models, Ebi has a positive message about saving lives and becoming a healthier planet. - See more at: http://sph.washington.edu/news/closeup/profile.asp?content_ID=4757#sthash.eKLVLrbO.dpuf

Kristie Ebi was among the first experts in the US on global climate change and health. Today she works with developing countries to lessen the impacts of climate change on their populations. She recently joined the School of Public Health to help it address one of its key emerging challenges, global environmental change and health. Despite the doom and gloom projected by many scientific models, Ebi has a positive message about saving lives and becoming a healthier planet. - See more at: http://sph.washington.edu/news/closeup/profile.asp?content_ID=4757#sthash.eKLVLrbO.dpuf
Distance Learning Course on Leadership & Management in Health Application Deadline Approaching

The Department of Global Health at the University of Washington is now accepting applications for the following Distance Learning courses. Leadership & Management in Health focuses on the practical leadership and management skills required for working in complex local, regional, national, and global health environments. Participants will develop a clear sense of the issues associated with leading organizations and managing people in health and public health environments.

"I have found that since I started this course I have a different outlook that has made me a better team player who depends on collaboration with teh stakeholders to get the jobs done." - Course participant from Trinidad and Tobago.

Site Application Deadline: October 26, 2014

For more information and to learn more about e-learning at the University of Washington, Department of Global Health, please visit http://edgh.uw.edu.
Upcoming Local Events Focus on Ebola Crisis
Most people had never heard of Ebola as recently as a few of months ago—now this deadly virus is leading every newscast. As West Africa fights the largest Ebola outbreak in history, Pacific Northwest researchers and organizations are working to aid its containment and curb its destructive potential. We hope you will join us for one or both of these upcoming events featuring local researchers and public health practitioners who are working on Ebola.

Brownbag Panel Discussion: "Ebola, What's Next?"
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
12:30 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.
Magnuson Health Sciences Center, T-435

The UW School of Nursing and the Department of Global Health invite you to a brown bag panel discussion with global health experts:
- James Pfeiffer, PhD, Health System Strengthening Expert
  Executive Director – Health Alliance International
- Karin Huster, RN, MPH, Consultant - Health in Emergencies
  Last Mile Health – Liberia
- Anastasia Pantelias, MS, Senior Program Officer
  Amanda Lanzarone, MA, Associate Program Officer
  Ebola Response Team, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Vijay Narayan, MPHc, Program Manager
  Health and Social Development Association – Sierra Leone
For more info: sgimbel@uw.edu.

Brought to you by the UW School of Nursing, Department of Global Health, Health Alliance International, and the Global Health Nurses Interest Group.

Washington Global Health Alliance Discovery Series:
“Contagion – Ebola Facts & Fiction Town Hall”
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave.

How contagious is Ebola? How do we stop its spread? Does it pose a genuine public health threat to Seattle and the rest of the world?

Join us for an honest discussion about the disease, its effect on the continent of Africa and the US, and what we can do to help. Featured panelists include:
- Jeffrey Duchin, MD, Chief of the Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section
  Public Health-Seattle & King County
- Joe DiCarlo, Vice President, Programs
  Medical Teams International
- Ann Marie Kimball, MD, MPH, Professor Emerita, Epidemiology
  University of Washington
- Karin Huster, RN, MPH, Consultant - Health in Emergencies
  Last Mile Health – Liberia
Following the presentation there will be a post-event opportunity to meet with the speakers at a reception from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased on Brown Paper Tickets. This event is expected to sell out, so do not delay.

For more info: Cole Bazemore, Events Coordinator at the Global Health Resource Center at colebaze@uw.edu.

Brought to you by the CodeMed, Washington Global Health Alliance & the WGHA Discovery Series
Student Analyst Group becomes Center, Grows Collaborations

October 7, 2014

The Strategic Analysis, Research & Training Program (START), which started as a faculty and student led effort to provide strategic analysis to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2011, is expanding to become a Center in the Department of Global Health and will begin offering analysis to other organizations this fall. START has supported over two-dozen graduate students in Epidemiology, Global Health, Sociology, Business, Public Health and Nursing to provide analysis and the program has already completed over 75 different projects with the Gates Foundation.

Under the direction of faculty co-leads Judd Walson (Global Health, Medicine, Pediatrics and Epidemiology) and Lisa Manhart (Epidemiology and Global Health), the program will expand to provide research and analysis to additional global health organizations as well as domestic-focused organizations.

The addition of the Domestic component will allow START faculty and students to provide support to local health organizations, including Public Health - Seattle & King County. The START Domestic Program is being led by Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett (Department of Health Services), who is also the Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. The START Center will also continue their partnership with the Foster School of Business students through the Arthur W. Burke Center for Entrepreneurship to increase collaboration and further integrate business approaches into their analysis.

“We are very excited about the University of Washington START Center. It’s a great way for students to engage in local and international projects in the global health community” said Saara Romu of the Gates Foundation.

START has been helping the Gates Foundation answer questions surrounding diarrhea, pneumonia, the scale-up of oral rehydration salts, and scientific advances to fight tuberculosis. Many of their reports delve into the tradeoffs of focusing on one disease or intervention to achieve the biggest impact on health.

"I just don't think that there are groups who do a better job than START,” said Grace John-Stewart, Professor in Global Health, “The products I have seen and the approach that was built is exceptional. I haven't seen anything quite like it.” John-Stewart partnered with START to learn from their approach to research and analysis as part of her work with the Global Center for Women, Adolescents and Children (Global WACh).

In addition to their work with the Gates Foundation, START created a report in collaboration with Center for Strategic and International Studies last spring examining the sustainability of global health programs at universities. The report, “Sustainability and Growth of University Global Health Programs,” examined the rapid growth of global health programs at U.S. universities, and provided a framework for analyzing whether universities can continue to produce successful graduates given the job market and funding availability.

Please join START for an Open House on Thursday, October 16 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to debut their new space on campus at the Harris Hydraulics Building, and to commemorate their expansion into a center.

For more information on the START program expansion, contact Emily Allen at emily04@uw.edu.

Photo 1: START Faculty mentors, students and Department Chair Judith Wasserheit and School of Public Health Dean Howard Frumkin with Saara Romu of the Gates Foundation.

Photo 2: START students work on projects in their new workspace at Harris Hydraulics Laboratory. Cheryl Dietrich (Epi – MPH student), Erica Lokken (Epi, MS), Kirkby Tickell (Epi, MPH), Jessica Long (Epi, PhD) and Emily Deichsel (Epi, PhD. Photo credit: Jeff Hodson.
More than Quarter of a Million Trained with I-TECH Support
SEATTLE, Sept. 30, 2014 — The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) is pleased to announce an incredible milestone: to date, more than a quarter of a million people have been trained with I-TECH support. This total includes:
- more than 100,000 nurses;
- nearly 29,000 physicians; and
- approximately 11,500 community-based health workers.
These health care workers are tracked using the Training System Monitoring and Reporting Tool (TrainSMART), an I-TECH-designed web-based training data collection system that allows users to accurately track data about health training programs, trainers, and trainees, to better evaluate training programs, plan new programs, and report activities to stakeholders.

“In many limited-resource countries, there aren’t enough health care workers to meet needs,” said Robert McLaughlin, Manager of Information Systems at I-TECH. “It’s critical to train new workers, and with the advent of new medicines, techniques, and technology, there is also the need for continuously updated skills and knowledge.

“Tracking which training is being offered, and where training is needed most, can be difficult,” he continued. “TrainSMART was designed as a solution to these challenges.”

TrainSMART tracks health care workers in nearly 72,000 facilities in more than 25 countries worldwide. Because TrainSMART is free, open-source software, it is appropriate for use in resource-limited settings and can be customized to meet specific needs.

- From I-TECH's news site. Read the full article.
Bicycles and HIV Prevention in Malawi

In Malawi, International Training & Education Center for Health (I-TECH) utilizes Community Mobilizers (CMs), who use interpersonal communication to create demand among males needing Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision services. In order to ease the mobility of CMs within their locales, I-TECH recently donated 10 bicycles to the program. The District Environmental Health Officer for Lilongwe, Mr. Mavuto Thomas, thanked I-TECH for the donation, saying this will greatly assist the CMs in their communities with mobility and information dissemination on the importance of male circumcision. Read more.
UW Researchers Contribute to Special Supplement on the Medical Education Partnership Initiative or MEPI

UW researchers contributed to a special supplement in the August issue of Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, about the work of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), a U.S.-funded program to strengthen health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa suffers 25 percent of the global burden of disease but has only three percent of the world’s health care workers. This continental problem is not news to Africans but recent reports from the World Health Organization and others have brought this challenge to global attention. In 2010, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) launched MEPI in an effort to help address this crisis in regard to medicine. MEPI is funding 13 medical schools in 12 African countries to help increase the quality, quantity and retention of medical school graduates. The UW is partnering with the University of Nairobi.

This supplement speaks to special circumstances of medical education in Africa and addresses many crosscutting topical, global themes in medical education. It includes 33 articles with 225 authors from all the 13 MEPI-sponsored medical schools and many partner schools in Africa and the United States.

The article,“Expanding Clinical Medical Training Opportunities at the University of Nairobi: Adapting a Regional Medical Education Model from the WWAMI Program at the University of Washington,” was written by Mara J. Child, James N. Kiarie, Suzanne M. Allen, Ruth Nduati, Judith N. Wasserheit, Minnie W. Kibore, Grace John-Stewart, Francis J. Njiri, Gabrielle O’Malley, Raphael Kinuthia,Tom E. Norris, and Carey Farquhar.