Fogarty International Center Funds 10 Awards for “Framework Programs”
The Fogarty International Center (FIC), in partnership with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Center on Minority
Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), all part of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), announced 10 awards for its "Framework
Programs in Global Health."
The program aims to build global health research capacity in the
United States and abroad. Institutions will create administrative
frameworks to tie multiple schools together on the topic of global
health and to develop multidisciplinary global health curricula
for undergraduates, graduates, and professional school students.
The awards support the development of innovative, multidisciplinary
global health programs on campuses in the United States and in
low- and middle-income nations. The 10 new awards this year, plus
the 16 funded last year, bring to 26 the total number of programs
in the network.
These 10 institutions received awards:
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
- Cornell University (NY)
- Emory University (GA)
- National Institute of Public Health (Mexico) - Planning Grant
- Pavlov State Medical University (Russia) - Planning Grant
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
- University of California San Diego (CA)
- University of Ibadan (Nigeria) - Planning Grant
- University of Southern California (CA)
- Vanderbilt University (TN)
Three of the 10 awards support 2-year planning grants for institutions
in low- and middle-income countries. National Institute of Public
Health (Mexico), Pavlov State Medical University (Russia) and University
of Ibadan (Nigeria) will develop full Framework applications by
building multi-school teams, developing pilot courses, and working
with institutional leadership to develop administrative structures
to support a trans-institutional program.
The combined program funding for the 10 awards is about $844,000
for the first year of the three-year awards and 2-year planning
grants. FIC and its partners will fund about $2.5 million over
the next three years on these awards. Many of these programs also
have significant matching funds from university resources.
"Health issues have become increasingly global," said
Dr. Roger I. Glass, Director of the Fogarty International Center,
speaking on behalf of the program partners. "Many nations
now face the same serious health burdens from non-communicable
diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and mental
illness. Environmental disruptions and natural disasters cross
borders and infectious diseases can rapidly spread around the globe.
The Framework Program encourages universities to educate students
from a global perspective to prepare them to address these serious
issues."
While focusing broadly on global health, some programs will emphasize
specific research areas. For example, the University of Southern
California (USC) will focus on research and educational programs
that explore the link between lifestyle and health outcomes in
nations of the Pacific Rim undergoing rapid cultural, social and
environmental change.
USC will expand its current work in tobacco and alcohol use to
consider issues of obesity, HIV prevention and environmental health,
among others. The Framework brings together faculty from the Schools
of Medicine, Social Work, Gerontology, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Engineering,
Policy-Planning-Development, Law, Communications, Cinema-TV and
Letters, Arts, and Sciences. The university will collaborate with
other Pacific Rim academic and public health institutions to develop
and expand interdisciplinary curricula and training programs.
Other awardees will collaborate with nearby institutions to develop
joint programs. For example, Vanderbilt University will partner
with Meharry Medical College, a historically black medical school
in Nashville that has trained a large percentage of African American
physicians in the United States. The two schools share a rich history
of working together in global health that they will expand through
the development of joint interdisciplinary administrative, communications
and curricular activities.
They will work together with the Schools of Medicine, Nursing,
Law, Divinity, Engineering, Education and Human Development, Arts
and Sciences, Management and Music at Vanderbilt and with the Schools
of Medicine, Dentistry and Graduate Studies and Research at Meharry.
Vanderbilt and Meharry will also work with more than 12 interdisciplinary
centers and programs and will build on research projects with collaborating
institutions in Brazil, Peru, Zambia, China and Mexico.
Similarly, the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) will
partner with San Diego State University (SDSU), a Hispanic-serving
institution, to develop a framework program with a thematic emphasis
on health issues of the near-by US-Mexico border and Latin American
region. The UCSD Schools of Medicine and of International Relations
and Pacific Studies will join with the SDSU Graduate School of
Public Health to develop joint degree programs and research opportunities.
In addition to the development of curricula and new interdisciplinary
degree programs, the awards will support a range of activities,
including travel for short-term experiences overseas, interdisciplinary
symposia and workshops, the creation of international virtual learning
communities, and faculty exchanges with international partners
to encourage collaborative teaching and research.
Dr. Flora Katz, the Framework Program Director, said, "The
Framework program responds to the groundswell of interest by universities
in setting up global health programs to address the profound global
health challenges of this century. By emphasizing multidisciplinary
teaching and research models, the Framework program stimulates
students and faculty outside the traditional medical and public
health areas to consider how their disciplines might contribute
to global health, and to forge new collaborations in these areas.
The response from students at every level has been overwhelming.
They want to be involved."
"For more information, see "Fiscal Year 2006 Awards" at
the website for the Framework Program: http://www.fic.nih.gov/programs/training_grants/framework/index.htm
Information about the awards made in the first year can be found
at the same URL under the heading, "Fiscal Year 2005 Awards."
The Fogarty International Center (http://www.fic.nih.gov), the
international component of the NIH, addresses global health challenges
through innovative and collaborative research and training programs
and supports and advances the NIH mission through international
partnerships.
The NCI, established under the National Cancer Act of 1937, is
the Federal Government's principal agency for cancer research and
training. The National Cancer Act of 1971 broadened the scope and
responsibilities of the NCI and created the National Cancer Program.
For more information about cancer, visit the NCI website at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
The NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
(http://www.ncmhd.nih.gov) conducts and supports research, training,
information dissemination and other programs aimed at reducing
the disproportionately high incidence and prevalence of disease,
burden of illness, and mortality experienced by certain American
populations, including racial and ethnic minorities and other groups
with disparate health status, such as the urban and rural poor.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |