Indigenous Healthcare Workers Take the Lead in HEAL Southwest Leadership Program
A new HEAL program, the HEAL Southwest Leadership, launched in August 2024 and provides an 18-month fellowship led by and designed for Indigenous healthcare workers serving the Navajo Nation and other communities in the Southwestern United States.
Reproductive Health in Refugee Camps: A Lifeline Amid Compounded Crises
Every crisis tells a story of resilience, but for refugee women, the stakes are even higher. Fleeing war, poverty, and persecution, they carry not just their belongings but the burden of navigating fragmented health systems that often fail to address their sexual and reproductive health needs.
The Silent Crisis: Why Mental Health Must Be Central to Humanitarian Aid for Refugees
In recent decades, the global refugee crisis has escalated dramatically. Conflicts are lasting longer, displacing more people for extended periods. Chronic underfunding leaves critical services, including mental health support, dangerously underfunded.
Improving Water and Sanitation Access in California and Around the Globe
There have been major improvements in access to water and sanitation globally, such as increased sanitation and water treatment services. However, an estimated 25% of households worldwide still do not have reliable access to safe drinking water, and 46% lack adequate sanitation.
Expanding Latinx Representation in the Environmental Sciences Across the University of California
As Dr. Federico Castillo reflected on the paucity of researchers of color in the environmental health field, he aimed to change that starting at the University of California system. The result was the formation of Latinxs and the Environment, which Dr. Castillo, colleagues, and students founded in 2017 at UC Berkeley and expanding to other UC campuses.
Formalizing Farm Labor Research Between Mexico and California
Mexico and California have been bound together historically before there were borders that delineated a colonial separation. That connection continues today and never more deeply than through agriculture.
UCGHI Annual Report 2023-2024
We invite you to explore our 2023-2024 Annual Report - featuring our collective accomplishments across the ten University of California campuses through our Centers, programs and ongoing local and global health initiatives addressing complex global health issues.
UC Global Health Day 2024 Closing Plenary Speaker Dr. Frank Mugisha’s Tireless Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights
We were honored to have Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), human rights champion, and anti-violence advocate, Frank Mugisha, PhD, as our Closing Plenary Speaker at UC Global Health Day gathering at UCLA on March 7th, 2024. Recently, Dr. Mugisha was recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.
SHINE Strong Fosters the Next Generation of Trans and Queer Researchers
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded SHINE Strong program is the first training and mentoring program committed to long-term development of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) behavioral scientists with expertise in trans population health. The program, co-founded by UCGHI Center for Gender and Health Justice Associate Director, Sean Arayasirikul, PhD (they/them), engages undergraduate students in HIV prevention and trans and nonbinary scholarship.
Amplifying Asian Immigrant Women Voices through a Study on Sexual and Reproductive Health Experiences
Dr. May Sudhinaraset and her colleagues launched the NIH-funded Bridging communities Raising API Voices for health Equity (BRAVE) Study, the first study to collect national data on the sexual and reproductive healthcare experiences of Asian immigrant women.
New UCGHI Advisory Council Members Representing Local and Global Regions of the World
Since the UC Global Health Institute was established, an advisory council (AC) of representatives across the University of California system has been essential to providing guidance on our strategies and priorities. Until recently, our AC has included a representative from each UC campus. This year, we welcome a new cadre of representatives from around the world as our regional members.
Eight University of California Students Selected for the Center for Gender and Health Justice Summer Internship Opportunities Program
Eight UC students from four campuses (UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Berkeley) have been selected to participate in the UCGHI Center for Gender and Health Justice’s (CGHJ) Internship Opportunities Program. This opportunity not only highlights the caliber of talent students hold at the University of California but also underscores UCGHI’s commitment to fostering future leaders in the field of global health and the CGHJ’s mission to support student involvement in reducing gender and health disparities globally.
The One Health Workforce Academies Creates Global Academic Connections in an Interdependent World
A global collaborative, transdisciplinary, and multisectoral public health initiative, the USAID-funded One Health Workforce - Next Generation was created to bring public health professionals and researchers around the world together to focus on the interconnection of the health of animals, people, and the environment.
UC Global Health Day Speakers Show How Health Professionals Can Make Change through Policy and Advocacy
On Wednesday, March 7th, nearly 500 committed health professionals and learners gathered from across California and around the world at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in-person and many people tuned in online for the 10th UC Global Health Day.
The Power of Storytelling at UC Global Health Day 2024
Rohan Radhakrishna, MD, MPH, MS–Chief Equity Officer and Deputy Director of The Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)–opened UC Global Health Day 2024 emphasizing the power of storytelling in our work as health professionals. It is a part of relating our work to the lives of the people we work for and within our communities. “We need to acknowledge and reflect, have language that's inclusive, include narrative and storytelling, have an intersectional approach and have diverse messengers and diverse platforms to reach people and rebuild trust,” he said.
How Midwifery is Essential to Black Maternal Healthcare
As we celebrate Black History and Futures Month, we also celebrate the work organizations like CHOICES are doing to improve Black maternal health outcomes in the U.S. CHOICES demonstrates that culturally relevant, community-based, affordable, midwifery centric reproductive care is the key to improving Black maternal health.
Maternal Health Rights for Farmworker Women: Teaching and Research for Action
In the heart of Santa Barbara County, amidst the agricultural landscape, pregnant farmworkers face a myriad of perinatal health risks.
Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna Connects Local Californian Health to Global Health
Rohan Radhakrishna, MD, MPH seemed almost destined for a career in global health as he reflects on his career trajectory. Now he gets to carry his vision out by leading the California Department of Public Health's Office of Health Equity (OHE).
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.
HEAL Fellows on the Navajo Nation Provide a Means to Heal from Historical Wounds
In honor of November’s Native American Heritage Month, we want to share the work of two initiatives led by HEAL alumni with the Navajo Nation sites administered by the Indian Health Services (IHS): The Zero Suicide Initiative at the Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC) led by and Adeline June, MPH, Safia Rubaii, MD, MPH, and a community task force and the maternal and child health work at the Northern Navajo Medical Center (NNMC) in Shiprock, NM with Fellow Donna Dineyazhe.
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.
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!