The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a global compact to create substantive change in the health and well-being of the world’s population by the year 2015. While three of the eight goals explicitly address the global disease burden associated with child mortality, maternal mortality, and infectious disease, all of the goals require attention and investment from the health sector, one explicity addresses gender equity. The Global Forum for Health Research has documented the continuing under-investment in research relevant to the health needs of resource poor countries including the lack of human resources to redress the research gap. Multi-sectorial engagement in priority global health research will be critical to the attainment of the MDGs.
The IRWG Gender and Global Health program aims to support innovative multidisciplinary global health training. The Predissertation Gender and Global Health Travel Fellowship provides a travel stipend to a University of Michigan student (regardless of citizenship) who is enrolled in graduate and professional programs throughout the University and who wishes to participate in internationally-based global health internships, clinical rotations or research for a minimum of two months as part of their degree programs. Interdisciplinary mentorship is encouraged.
Preliminary Dissertation Research Travel: The fellowship supports travel for a graduate student who is planning to conduct dissertation research in an international setting relevant to the health needs of low and middle-income countries. The award provides travel support for preliminary visits to prospective overseas dissertation sites by graduate students to facilitate planning doctoral research. The fellowship can only be used to support student's travel-related and living expenses. It cannot be used to support direct research costs. Students are responsible for complying with all University of Michigan Institutional Review Board requirements for the ethical conduct of research.
Projects will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of faculty and staff.
A selection committee comprised of faculty and staff from across the University will evaluate the applications. The GGH Program does not provide feedback to applicants on the quality of their proposals, nor provide applicants with evaluators’ comments.
The process is very competitive. Do not assume that you will receive an award. Do not purchase an airline before the awards are announced if you cannot cover the cost yourself. Also note that, given limited resources, each year there are departments that go under- or un-represented in the cohort of finalists.
International research projects must be at least two months in length, and must constitute at least a 30-hour per week time commitment, exclusive of language training. Only students who will be continuing University of Michigan students in Fall 2009 are eligible.
Applicants must have the language skills to carry out the proposed internship or research project.
Grantees must provide a brief report. The report should be two to five pages in length and outline the internship, clincial, or research experience as well as summarize all funds received from all other sources.
All applicants must submit a budget including additional sources of funding. Students receiving funding elsewhere are eligible to apply, but may receive a reduced award. Failure to report additional sources of funding may result in forfeit of this award.