Northwestern educators, faculty, students and community partners shared and celebrated global health, education and outreach during the 6th annual Global Health Education Day, organized by the Center for Global Health Education, a part of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health.
Held in the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center on May 14, the event featured poster presentations and two keynote addresses and opening remarks from Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, associate professor of Hospital Medicine and Medical Education and co-director of the Center for Global Health Education.
“Thank you for joining us for this year’s Global Health Education Day—an annual tradition that brings together students, trainees, educators and researchers from across Northwestern, Chicago and our global partner institutions,” Doobay-Persaud said. “Today is a celebration of the vibrant and diverse work being done in global health education and research, and a chance to learn from one another as we continue to grow this community. We recognize that this work continues in the face of growing challenges, including an increasingly complex funding landscape. Despite these headwinds, the commitment and creativity of this community remain strong—and today is a testament to that resilience.”
The day continued with a poster session that featured more than 30 posters on projects relevant to global health from students, trainees and faculty members. Topics ranged from social media usage and mental health to opportunities for health professions education.
Susan van Schalkwyk, MPhil, PhD, professor emeritus in health professions education and former executive head of the Department of Health Professions Education at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, delivered the keynote address, entitled “What Knowledge Matters? Considerations for Global Health Scholarship.”
Drawing on her personal experiences, van Schalkwyk discussed the importance of education, responsibilities attached to scholarship and how to navigate dominating narratives.
Noting that scholarship is more than simply conducting research, van Schalkwyk shares that “knowledge is the commodity with which we trade.”
“People regarded as being in the know have power, and power can change things,” van Schalkwyk said. “I hope you will hear the call and take on the call for revisiting what you are engaging with, how you are assimilating, what you’re reading, what you hear and that you will really revisit what knowledge matters as you engage in your scholarly work.”
Megan L. Schultz, MD, MA, associate professor of pediatrics, director of global child health and co-director of the global health scholarly concentration at the Medical College of Wisconsin, delivered her keynote, entitled “Incorporating Global Health into Your Career in an Ethical, Sustainable, Anticolonial Way.”
Schultz discussed her education journey and shared career advice, highlighting that healthcare is a human right and emphasizing to audience members the importance to remember their purpose. Speaking to the health education-focused crowd, Schultz discussed mentorship, nothing that not all mentors need to share a mentee’s field of study. “Sometimes your mentor is just someone who believes in you and who connects you to the right people,” Schultz said.
Van Schalkwyk and Schultz both stressed the importance of global health and the pursuit of education.
The event concluded in the Ryan Family Atrium with an awards ceremony and closing reception, including the McGaw Global Health Clinical Scholars Program graduation ceremony and the announcement of the poster presentation award winners.
Samuel Ampaw, a student in the Master of Science in Global Health program, was awarded the top prize in the student/trainee category for their poster, “Social Media Usage and Mental Health: Insights from Ghana.”
Mallika Pandey, senior research coordinator in the Department of Medical Social Sciences, won in the faculty/staff category for the poster, “A community engaged approach to adapt an evidence-based suicide prevention package for Ethiopian youth.”
The event also recognized Amelia Van Pelt, PhD, MPH, this year’s Outstanding Educator of the Year. Van Pelt is an assistant professor of Medical Social Sciences and associate director of research at the Ryan Family Center for Global Primary Care.
This award honors outstanding global health educators who have provided exceptional support in the development and advancement of teaching and learning in global health.
Van Pelt was nominated by Rinad Beidas, PhD, the chair and Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor of Medical Social Sciences.
“Amy’s collaborative nature and shared global health expertise is notable, and her leadership in facilitating capacity building workshops for global health colleagues is most striking,” Doobay-Persaud said. “In addition to teaching, she has dedicated herself to mentoring global health trainees.”
Doobay-Persaud was joined by William Leonard, PhD, co-director of the Center for Global Health Education, for closing remarks.
The Center for Global Health Education hosts Global Health Education Day annually to feature global health experts and provide a venue for students, trainees, faculty and staff within the field to share their work.
Poster Presentation Winners
- Samuel Ampaw – Social Media Usage and Mental Health: Insights from Ghana (Poster #28, Student/Trainee)
- Mallika Pandey – A community engaged approach to adapt an evidence-based suicide prevention package for Ethiopian youth (Poster #16, Faculty/Staff)
Honorable Mention
- Moses Ochora – Adaptation of NeuroScreen, a tablet-based Neurocognitive test battery among adolescents with Perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) in Southwestern Uganda (Poster #20, Student/Trainee)
- Sarah Welch – Scoping Current Opportunities for Health Professions Education in Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa (Poster #29, Faculty/Staff)
McGaw Global Health Clinical Scholars Program Graduates
- Miriam Liat Alpert, DO, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Toluwalase Awoyemi MD, Dphil, Internal Medicine
- Nithin Charlly, MD, Family Medicine
- Conor B. Driscoll, MD, Urology (Surgery)
- Emma Greever, MD, Emergency Medicine
- Nova Hou, MD, MPH, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Nevin Kamal, MD, Endocrinology (Internal Medicine)
- Jared Larson, MD, Internal Medicine
- Oluchi Princess Nwoke, MD, Anesthesiology
- Lisa Laurenzana, MD, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Antonio Mondríguez González, MD, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Steven Hugh-Patrick Smith, MBBS, Pathology
- Louis A. Ugalde, MD, Emergency Medicine
Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD is a member of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) and Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM).
To learn more about the Center for Global Health Education, visit their website.
For details on events, news and funding opportunities, sign up for the Havey Institute for Global Health newsletter.