UC Global Health Institute

The UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) is a UC-wide institute that stimulates, nurtures, and promotes global health research, education, and collaboration to advance the University’s global health agenda.

Registration for UC Global Health Day 2024 is Now Open

Mark your calendars and join us for a transformative journey at the Institute's 10th UC Global Health Day 2024 - Making Change: Creating Health Equity Through Policy and Advocacy.

University of California Researchers Continuing the Fight to End the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

The commitment to ending the HIV epidemic is alive and well across the world. Many University of California researchers are leading the way in education and research using innovative prevention, treatment, and adherence modalities.

UCGHI at 2023 NorCal Climate and Health Symposium

UCGHI Director of Education, Dr. Oladele Ogunseitan, and UCGHI Center for Planetary Health Co-Director, Dr. Woutrina Smith participated in a session at the 2023 NorCal Climate and Health Symposium, which focused on empowering the next generation of climate and health education through innovative approaches and accessible opportunities.

UCGHI Center for Planetary Health Leadership, Federico Castillo, PhD and Samantha Ying, PhD, Awarded California Climate Action Grant

Among the many UC Santa Cruz-based awardees, a $1.99 million grant was awarded to help to equip California farmworker communities with new tools to address the damaging impacts of climate change on their health and livelihoods.

From Seed Funding to Global Impact: Three Multi-Campus University of California-Based Initiatives Drive Health Equity

In 2021, the UC Global Health Institute launched the Incubator Awards program which is a competitive planning grants program that provided up to $10,000 in funding for multi-campus and multidisciplinary initiatives in the initial phase of the program and an additional $30,000 for three multi-campus teams. Here is an overview of their work from 2021 to present and what they aim to tackle in the future.

Latinxs and the Environment: Connecting University of California Students in Environmental Research and Social Change

UCR L&E students led their first two-day conference, “Latinxs & the Environment: Conectando a la comunidad Latina en la investigación ambiental y el cambio social,” which aimed to foster UC-wide engagement and promote and encourage research across all disciplines in environmental fields and in the Latinx community.

Programs Across the University of California are Changing the Landscape for Global Mental Health Access

We talked with researchers and practitioners across the UC doing this vital work to improve, expand, and advocate for quality mental health services in global settings.

Breaking the Silence: UCGHI Students on Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention

As the nation enters its thirty-fourth Domestic Violence Awareness Month, four UC Global Health Institute students are working to translate academic work into tangible positive impacts for survivors and those at risk.

UCGHI Welcomes Two New Fellows to the Sustainable Development for HIV Health (SD4H) Fellowship

Two new fellows, Dan Omollo and Erick Ndenga, are in their first year of studies at Maseno University and began the Advanced Training in Clinical Research certificate program at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in July 2023. 

University of California Students Tell Us the Importance of Hispanic Heritage Month

This incoming class of freshmen is the largest number of California residents ever admitted into the University of California. And the largest group represented are Latine students making up 37.6% of incoming students. 

UCGHI Welcomes Dr. Dalia Magaña and Dr. Valerie Cortez to Advisory Council

One of the greatest assets of the UC Global Health Institute Advisory Council is the diverse multidisciplinary faculty representation across all 10 campuses in the University of California system.

UCGHI Annual Report 2022-2023

We are proud to share with you UCGHI's third annual report - featuring our biggest accomplishments during the last year. We invite you to learn more about our work and our vision for creating a stronger future for global health.

2021-2022 GloCal Fellow, Stephen Okoboi, Receives K43 Emerging Global Leader Award

GloCal Health Fellowship alumnus, Stephen Okoboi, MPH, PhD, has been awarded with the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) K43 Fogarty Emerging Global Leader Award to continue his remarkable work in advancing HIV prevention and combating the HIV epidemic in Uganda.

Community-Building as Resilience-Building: The Power of Support Groups for HIV-Positive Trans Mental Health Services

Ms. Billie Cooper knows exactly when she was diagnosed with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). It was May 15, 1985. “I’m a walking testimony for HIV and AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome] because I was there in the early days,” she says.

Navigating Challenges & Inspiring Success: The Significance of Queer Mentorship in Academia

Queer mentorship holds transformative power that extends beyond shaping the lives of sexual and gender minority (SGM) scholars; it has the potential to revolutionize the hierarchical systems within academic institutions.

Essential to Capitalism but Forgotten in the Harvest: LGBTQIA+ Farmworkers and the Continued Rise in Anti-Queer Regimes

Over the last year, the criminalization of marginalized identities has increased substantially. Specifically, U.S. laws and policies that criminalize Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) people and undocumented individuals have even been debated at the federal level, creating uncertainty for many individuals.

The Power of Research to Create Dialogue About AAPI Women’s Experiences with Sexual Violence

What was reported as the first large cluster of the COVID-19 virus initially in Wuhan, China quickly devolved into a sharp increase in racist and violent attacks against people of Asian descent online and in-person, often the elderly. This rise in the visibility of hate crimes highlighted the often unreported anti-Asian sentiments already present in American society.

Get to know CGHJ’s New Associate Director, Sean Arayasirikul!

We caught up with the Center for Gender & Health Justice’s new Associate Director, Sean Arayasirikul, PhD to learn more about their inspiration working in public health, the ways in which their genderqueer Thai American identity has influenced their journey, advice to future public health scholars, and their path to UCGHI.

Taking Root Across the UC: Expanding Latinx and the Environment to UC Riverside and Beyond

After the inception of Latinxs and the Environment (L&E) at UC Berkeley by Dr. Federico Castillo, PhD, and Lupe Gallegos-Diaz, MSW in 2017, the program recently added a branch at UC Riverside (UCR) under the direction of Dr. Sam Ying, PhD. We spoke to Dr. Ying and some of the key student leaders from L&E to get an insider's perspective on it's growth and expansion.

Deeper Than Race: How Reluctance to Examine Black American Diversity Obscures the Maternal Health Crisis

Today, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy than white women in the US. UC Berkeley MPH Candidate and UCGHI MASS Program Awardee Mariah Jiles writes about the necessity of addressing disparities in the health between Black and white pregnant people.

How Iran’s Woman. Life. Freedom. Movement Shaped a Movement across the UC System

The unjust death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, sparked outrage and protests in Iranian streets and abroad. Yalda Shahram, MD, along with colleagues, formed WomanLifeFreedom at UCSF with a mission to achieve solidarity and raise awareness about the growing movement in Iran.

Paving the Way for the Field of Disability Studies

There are individuals at the University of California driving the rapid growth of Disability Studies across US-based college campuses. Scholars and students such as David Serlin, Rachel Fox, and Zoha Raad-Mazzeo are paving the way for this field, combining scholarship, activism, and advocacy in revolutionary ways.

How a UC scholar and UC faculty member are centering Black health

In the battle against systemic racism, the realm of global health is far from immune to its negative and often destructive impact. As Black communities remain disproportionately and deeply affected by racist policies and structures that obstruct their well-being and access to care, the work of leaders like Bridgette Smith and Dr. Karen Lincoln becomes imperative.

UCGHI Receives UC Online Awards

Congratulations to UCGHI Education Director Dele Ogunseitan for receiving $150,000 from UC Online for digital inclusion to further support UCGHI's educational activities across UC in global health!

A Message From UCGHI Director Madhavi Dandu

UCGHI Director Madhavi Dandu reflects on recent tragedies and setting intentions for the year to come.

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