IU Center for Global Health

05/29/2026

For one month in El Salvador, Indiana University School of Medicine student Jackson Sawyer found himself navigating crowded hospital hallways, struggling through conversations in Spanish and experiencing firsthand what it feels like to be far from home and unsure of how to communicate.

The discomfort changed him.

Sawyer traveled to El Salvador with the ENLACE program through the IU School of Medicine. The experience was made possible by the Abigail Brinkman Scholarship, an award created to support IU medical students pursuing international clinical experiences focused on underserved communities.

Read more about the opportunity:

IU School of Medicine student Jackson Sawyer spent a month working in a hospital in El Salvador with support from the Abigail Brinkman Scholarship.

05/28/2026

Congratulations Global Health Pathway grads & future global health leaders: Amanda Arand (neurology) Yanira Castellanos Espinoza, Celeste Dias Pardave, Lian Hnin (Department of Family Medicine at IU School of Medicine) Sara Forna, Rayanne Pancoast (internal medicine) Nicole Hicks (pediatrics) Ricardo Antonio Serrano Poblete (psych).

05/28/2026

“Persistence pays off in the end,” said Chandy John, MD, while reflecting on the challenges and rewards of building a career in global health research during his keynote address titled "How to Change the World Through Science" at the 2026 Global Health Scholars Day.

Learn more about Global Health Scholars Day and the three projects that received top honors in the annual poster competition:

https://globalhealth.iu.edu/news-events/_news/global-health-scholars-day-2026.html

Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Nursing
Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis
Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington

Global Health Scholars Day Highlights Persistence, Mentorship and Research Impact

05/28/2026

Thursday's Webinar Highlights In-Country Faculty Positions

For more than 35 years, Ampath Global’s In-Country Leads have been foundational to our model of equitable partnerships. These leaders live full-time in Kenya, Ghana, Nepal or Mexico and focus on building capacity through training, education, and delivering high-quality care. Many prior In-Country Leads have gone on to take esteemed positions in global health such as director of global health programs or global health research at prestigious academic institutions and community sites. Join an informational webinar on Thursday, May 28 at 11 a.m. (EDT) to hear all of the details of these important leadership roles.

Learn more about the positions and register: https://www.ampathglobal.org/employment

Indiana University School of Medicine

For more than 35 years, AMPATH’s In-Country Leads have been foundational to our model of equitable partnerships. These leaders live full-time in Kenya, Ghana, Nepal or Mexico and focus on building capacity through training, education, and delivering high-quality care.  Many prior In-Country Leads...

05/24/2026

The NPGH LEADERs LAUNCH Fellowship Program is a 12-month clinical research training program for post-doctorate trainees and doctoral students in the health professions, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Fogarty International Center in partnership with several NIH Institutes and Centers.

Applications are due September 15. The fellowship year will run from July 1, 2027-June 30, 2028. An informational webinar on June 10 at 10 a.m. is a great opportunity for prospective applicants to learn more about the program and for alumni, mentors, site leads, and country directors to hear program and application updates.

Learn more and apply:

The NPGH LEADERs LAUNCH Fellowship Program is a 12-month clinical research training program for post-doctorate trainees and doctoral students in the health professions, sponsored by the NIH’s Fogarty International Center (FIC) in partnership with several NIH Institutes and Centers.

05/23/2026

For more than 35 years, Ampath Global's In-Country Leads have been foundational to our model of equitable partnerships. These leaders live full-time in Kenya, Ghana, Nepal or Mexico and focus on building capacity through training, education, and delivering high-quality care. Many prior In-Country Leads have gone on to take esteemed positions in global health such as director of global health programs or global health research at prestigious academic institutions and community sites. Join an informational webinar on Thursday, May 28 at 11 a.m. (EDT) to hear all of the details of these important leadership roles.

For more than 35 years, AMPATH’s In-Country Leads have been foundational to our model of equitable partnerships. These leaders live full-time in Kenya, Ghana, Nepal or Mexico and focus on building capacity through training, education, and delivering high-quality care.  Many prior In-Country Leads...

05/22/2026

Congratulations to the three projects receiving top honors at the 2026 Global Health Scholars Day:

Whitney Cordoba-Grueso and collaborators Molly Rosenberg, Raul Cruz, Miriam Rodriguez and Maria Parker for “Exploring Age, S*x, and Educational Differences in the Association of Cigarette Smoking and Cognitive Function Among Adults in Mexico, 2001-2021.”

Jessica Duke and collaborators Sumaya Mall, Erika Beidelman, Maria Klein and Molly Rosenberg for “Effect of a randomized cash transfer on allostatic load among older adults in rural South Africa.”

Kirsten Prabhudas-Strycker and collaborators Lameck Diero, Winnie Muyindike, Helen Byakwaga, Sylvia Kitur, Joseph Mining’wo, Bob Ssekyanzi, Alexis Byaruhanga, Harold Kooreman, Felix Pabon-Rodriguez, Hong-Ha M. Truong, Jayne Lewis Kulzer, Edwin Ochomo, Francesca Odhiambo, Suzanne Goodrich, Aggrey Semeere, Neelima Navuluri, Kara Wools-Kaloustian and Leslie A. Enane for “Delays in TB treatment among people with pulmonary TB in East Africa: findings from a prospective cohort study.”

Indiana University School of Medicine
Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis
Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington

05/19/2026

Last week we hosted Dr. Tesfaye Mersha for our global health research speaker series session titled "Harnessing the Mobility of Minds to Address Developmental Challenges in Africa." Dr. Mersha introduced the Alliance for Research, Innovation, and Education (AfRIE), a non-profit platform designed to facilitate global collaboration and capacity building from anywhere in the world. Using a "think big, start small" approach, AfRIE partnered with Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia to establish several pioneering initiatives, including Africa's first Master of Public Health in Genomics program. The presentation highlighted AfRIE’s diverse impact, including organizing large-scale workshops on data science, grant writing, and team science, as well as providing long-term mentorship to junior faculty to bridge the gap between genomics research and clinical practice. Dr. Mersha emphasized that the success of such global health partnerships relies on building mutual trust, understanding local cultural contexts, and transitioning leadership to local experts to ensure long-term sustainability.

Dr. Mersha is director of the Precision Pulmonary Medicine research program and the James A. Caplin Professor of Pulmonary Research at Indiana University School of Medicine. Special thanks to the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. Center for Health Services Research for co-sponsoring the speaker series.

Watch now: https://iu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/t/1_ua8qc9ap

05/05/2026

The Indiana University School of Medicine’s Global Health Residency Pathway trains the next generation of physicians who see medicine as a way to address inequities across borders and within communities.

Built on longstanding partnerships, including Ampath Kenya, the pathway offers residents structured training, mentorship and field experiences that shape how they approach care in a global context.

Learn more about pathway:

Global Health Residency Pathway Provides Training, Mentorship and Experience