WCM Global Health Faculty Awarded NIH R25 Grant for Global Infectious Disease in Women Course and Scholars Program

Drs. Jennifer Downs, Jyoti Mathad, and Margaret McNairy, Center for Global Health faculty, were recently awarded NIH funding to pursue a multi-faceted education program addressing knowledge gaps in global infectious diseases in women. They are joined by Drs. Sasha Fahme, Lindsey Reif, Vanessa Rouzier, Katey Walsh, and a number of other Weill Cornell faculty members with expertise in women’s health.

This award continues a long-term passion project for these faculty members. In 2014, the then junior faculty members noticed a gender gap in global health leadership and co-founded the Women in Global Health Research Initiative. The Initiative sponsored a yearly conference featuring leading female voices in the field of global health as well as a training program for female researchers across the globe. Over the years, the Initiative grew into a global community of over 80 faculty and 300 trainees across 27 countries, and the faculty members decided to expand the program to include a high impact one-week course for early-stage investigators. The course features lectures on global infectious disease across a woman’s lifespan from leading experts in the field, including topics such as host-immunology and the social determinants of health that contribute to poor health outcomes for women.  

Currently, the faculty are preparing for the inaugural course, which will take place May 19th - May 23rd, 2025.

Read more about the Women in Global Health Research Initiative here: https://www.womenglobalhealth.com/ 

Article by Flavia Scott