UCGHI Advisory Council

Madhavi Dandu, MD, MPH is a Professor of Medicine at UCSF and the Director of the UC Global Health Institute. She received her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and medical degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She completed her residency training in the Categorical Medicine Program at UCSF in 2003. Afterward, Dr. Dandu attended the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Masters in Public Health with a focus on international health and health and human rights. At UCSF, Dr. Dandu spends time in the inpatient clinical services supervising and teaching medical students and residents. Her main non-clinical areas of focus are global health education, curriculum development, and mentorship, especially in the areas of ethics and cultural humility. She is currently Director of Education for Global Action in Nursing. Previously, she served as Director of the Master of Science in Global Health program at UCSF and the Global Health Pathway/Area of Distinction for the Internal Medicine Residency. In addition, she previously co-directed the Global Health Core for the Division of Hospital Medicine and was a senior curriculum adviser for the HEAL Fellowship. Dr. Dandu continues to pursue her research interests in human rights and global public health. She collaborates with colleagues at UCSF and several community-based organizations to create cultural humility training for public health professionals. Dr. Dandu is deeply interested in workforce development as has deeply enjoyed supporting and launching programs for high school students including the Student Researchers in Global Health Program at UCSF.

Dr. Dandu is the multi-campus UCGHI Summer Researchers in Global Health Program (SRGH) Director and oversees all aspects of this program. Since 2018, Dr. Dandu played a significant role in launching the SRGH Program at UCSF and has supported curriculum and served as a guest lecturer.

Sun Yu Cotter, MPH is the deputy director for UCGHI and leads operations and strategic development. Sun is a multi-lingual global health professional certified in mediation & conflict resolution and trained in restorative justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion champion with 15+ years of experience in academic, non-profit, and private settings. Sun is also a member of the UCOP Anti-Racism Working Group. Prior to UCGHI, she was a senior program manager at UCSF’s Institute for Global Health Sciences on a project aiming to improve the quality of maternal health, family planning and abortion care for women in Kenya and India. She also has extensive field experience implementing large clinical trials in Africa, including a study on childhood mortality and childhood morbidity. Her passion for global health began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Uzbekistan.

Sun supports the overall operations of the multi-campus UCGHI Summer Researchers in Global Health program. Sun served on UCSF Global REACH Steering Committee, served on the application review committee, and served as a proud co-mentor in 2018 when the program first launched for a project that aimed to improve the quality of maternal health, family planning and abortion/post-abortion care in India and Kenya.

Lara Stemple, JD, is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and International Student Programs at UCLA School of Law, where she oversees the law school’s LL.M. (masters) and S.J.D. (doctoral) degree programs and directs the Health and Human Rights Law Project. Stemple teaches and writes in the areas of human rights, global health, gender, sexuality, and incarceration. Before joining UCLA, Stemple was the Executive Director of the human rights organization Just Detention International and was a Rockefeller Post-Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University’s Program on Sexuality, Gender, Health, and Human Rights. Stemple currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the UC Global Health Institute and is a founding faculty member of its Center of Expertise on Women’s Health and Empowerment. Stemple has drafted legislation that was signed into law, lobbied members of Congress and United Nations delegates, and testified before legislative bodies. Media commentary has included CNN, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, and The Atlantic.