The Latest News from VIGH

VUSM Graduate Receives 2023 Vermund Award for Excellence in Global Health

Sten H. Vermund Award for Excellence in Global Health Alexander S. Mina The Sten H. Vermund Award for Excellence in Global Health recognizes the graduating medical student who has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the health of the people of or from low- or middle-income countries through distinguished scholarship, education, and/or contributions to the improvement of clinical care. The award was established in 2017 to honor Dr. Sten H. Vermund, the founding director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. 

VUMC and VIGH Investigators Present Findings on Elevated Mortality of Tuberculosis Diagnosis in People Living with HIV

"Among people with HIV in Latin America, those diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at an initial clinic visit were about twice as likely to die within 10 years as people not initially diagnosed with TB, according to findings from a large observational study. This increased risk persisted despite the availability of TB treatment and mirrored patterns seen previously in HIV-negative populations, according to research supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

VIGH Team Presents at 2019 CUGH Conference

VIGH faculty, staff, and students presented at the 2019 Consortium of Universities in Global Health (CUGH) Conference on March 9-10 in Chicago. The 10th annual conference was focused on Translation and Implementation for Impact in Global Health. The VIGH team presented on a range of topics, from the development of a research methods for a nurse anesthetist program in Kenya to nutrition education outreach in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. 

VUSM MPH Alumnae Awarded Global Health Corps Fellowships

Two Vanderbilt MPH Program alumnae have been named 2018-2019 Global Health Corps (GHC) Fellows. Grace Umutesi, M.P.H. and Shellese Shemwell, M.P.H. will both work in Rwanda during the upcoming year. Umutesi will serve as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Officer with Health Development Initiative, and Shemwell has been named Integrated NCD Program Quality Improvement Coordinator with Partners in Health/Inshuti Mu Buzima.

Science and PBS report on three places where "ending AIDS" is a distant hope

In 2016, Nigeria accounted for 37,000 of the world's 160,000 new cases of babies born with HIV. The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria does have an exceptionally large HIV-infected population of 3.2 million people. In other countries, however, rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV have plummeted, even in far poorer countries. Mother-to-child transmission is only one part of Nigeria’s HIV epidemic.

NPR Highlights Work of VIGH Faculty Member

This week, Nashville Public Radio featured the work of VIGH Faculty Member Martin Were, M.D., M.S. and his work with electronic health records. Were developed the smartphone app mUzima for users to learn about symptoms and vital signs. He continues to work on creating electronic, personal health records for patients to access. Click here to listen to the NPR story. 

Moon and Heimburger receive 2016 Excellence in Teaching Award

Every year since 2000, the VUMC Academic Enterprise has honored faculty members for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Contributions to Research. Recipients were nominated by their faculty colleagues and chosen by the 2016 VUMC Academic Enterprise Faculty Awards Selection Committees.This year both Douglas C. Heimburger, M.D., M.S. and D. Troy Moon, M.D., M.P.H.received the Jacek Hawiger Award for Teaching Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in the Classroom, Lecture or Small Group Setting.