The Latest News from VIGH

VIGH affiliated faculty member Brian L. Heuser, Ed.D., M.T.S., recently received the Thomas Jefferson Award "for distinguished service to Vanderbilt through extraordinary contributions as a member of the faculty in the councils and government of the university" at the Vanderbilt Fall Faculty Assembly on August 23. Dr.

*/

This month, VIGH faculty members and anesthesiologists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) traveled to Liberia to evaluate medical education and training initiatives. 

The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health’s Education and Training team was fortunate to have four exceptional interns this summer. Interns Sharo Costa and Hope Wiggs, M.Ed. candidates in the International Education Policy and Management program, shared their experiences this summer. Their work focused on collaborating to create curricular materials, including lesson plans, presentations, and activities, as well as monitoring and evaluation tools for a mentorship program with VIGH’s partner faculty at the University of Zambia.


 
 
 
 Carolyn Audet, Ph.D.

  In partnership with the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), faculty and staff from the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) led a 10-day grant writing workshop in Maputo, Mozambique to train Mozambican health professionals on techniques to strengthen and improve their grant proposals.

Sarah Heerboth, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Class of 2019 (expected), recently wrote an article reflecting on her experience working with Lwala Community Alliance in Kenya. Sarah worked at Lwala for her Integrated Science Course (ISC): Global Health, a research immersion course for third- and fourth-year medical students. 

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.

This week, VIGH hosted visitors from Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) and the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to attend the VIGH Transdisciplinary Program for Strengthening Clinical Trial Regulation Capacity. The goal of this program was to build capacity of NAFDAC and NACA staff for clinical trial regulation and oversight of clinical trial protocols. NAFDAC, Nigeria's local equivalent of the U.S.

​VIGH Director Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H., was awarded the Amos Christie Chair at a ceremony on April 25. At this event, Dr. Trevathan and seven other faculty members were named to endowed chairs.

This year, seven students graduated with a Master of Public Health in Global Health, and 11 received the Graduate Certificate in Global Health. The week leading up to Friday's commencement ceremony involved several events celebrating this year's Global Health graduates, including a dinner and graduation reception. MPH graduates received their diplomas during the commencement ceremony on May 11 in Langford Auditorium.

Students in the spring semester of their second year of the Vanderbilt MPH program recently presented the work of their MPH thesis to members, mentors, colleagues, fellow students, and guests. This year, there are seven MPH students in the Global Health Track who presented their thesis findings. See below for the list of Global Health students and their thesis topics.  Beto Arriola Vigo, M.D.Qualitative Analysis: Community Involvement in the new model of care during Mental Health Reform in Peru

On Monday, February 19, 2018, Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., a leading voice on global health equity, social justice and a humanitarian spent the day at Vanderbilt lecturing and meeting with faculty, staff and students.

 
 
 
 
  

Belito Adolfo has been working for Friends in Global Health (FGH) since 2014. He was promoted to District Coordinator in January 2017, just as VUMC/FGH began supporting the Quelimane District. This new position was the biggest challenge of his professional career. In his new role he works with larger, urban health facilities handling higher patient volumes. With the increased responsibilities, he recognizes the importance of his work and being team member.

Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) students presented their practicum experiences at the 2018 Public Health Practicum Colloquium on January 26. Through posters and discussion, students presented their practicum experiences working and learning in public health organizations and settings. Click here to view photos of the 2018 colloquium, and read below for practicum descriptions from MPH candidates in the Global Health track. 
 
  

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.